Former South Carolina Coroner Sues Police over Poker Raid, Says SLED Is in the Wrong

Gary Miller Watts, who served as county coroner for 20 years until 2020, is suing his local police department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) following his 2024 arrest during a raid on what authorities described as an underground poker game. 

Coroner Sues SLED Claiming Police Misinterpreted the Law

Watts was arrested in April last year during a raid on a rented office space in the town of Irmo, along with ten others, including his son, Adam. Officers confiscated over $15,000 in cash, alleging the event was an illegal gambling operation due to organizers taking a rake. The charges against Watts were later dismissed.

However, in the current lawsuit, Watts and his attorneys argue that it wasn’t he who broke the law, but rather the Irmo police and SLED. According to the complaint, playing poker with friends in a rented office suite is not against the law. In an unusually sarcastic tone for a legal filing, the lawsuit mocks the law enforcement officers who arrived in full tactical gear and armed with assault rifles, describing them as “a crack team of gumshoes” who “charged in like SEAL Team 6” to arrest what it calls a harmless “group of friends who routinely gather in an office suite to play poker, have dinner, and share fellowship.”

At the core of Watts’ lawsuit is the argument that South Carolina’s anti-poker law only prohibits games in specific locations such as taverns, inns, liquor stores, barns, kitchens, stables, outhouses, streets, highways, open woods, and racetracks. In other words, the lawsuit claims that playing poker isn’t inherently illegal. It’s only unlawful if it takes place in one of those explicitly listed locations.

Watts Comments on the Matter

In an interview with The State newspaper, Watts said he genuinely believed they weren’t doing anything illegal, based on his understanding of the law. He described the participants in the game as local professionals and noted that, compared to high-stakes casino poker, the pots were modest. According to Watts, еverybody had a budget for it and nobody was getting hurt.

Watts also defended poker as a healthy and beneficial activity, especially as he approaches 70. He explained that while he can no longer play physically demanding sports like basketball or football, poker keeps his mind sharp, fosters friendly competition, and provides valuable social interaction. He added that some of the people he plays with, who include doctors, professors, and other professionals, have been part of his poker circle for over 40 years.

In the lawsuit, Watts claims he experienced embarrassment, incurred legal expenses due to the criminal charges, and lost work as a result of damage to his reputation following the arrest. He is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.