Lexington County, SC – In September 2010, the SC Senate Ethics Committee completed a thorough investigation of Senator Jake Knotts’ campaign disclosures for the time he has served as a SC Senator. Senator Knotts was found guilty for “serious and numerous counts of violating campaign disclosure laws.” Sadly, the Senate Ethics Committee responded with a simple public reprimand.
On March 5, 2012, a Kershaw County judge declared a new machine that allows users to purchase long-distance calling cards and then play poker games for money, violates the state’s anti-video gambling laws. The machines considered in this case were called Magic Minutes, a company owned by Knotts’ contributors. These contributors and family members are noted on Knotts’ current disclosures as giving $3,000 to his campaign.
When interviewed about the Kershaw county decision to illegalize the Magic Minutes machines, Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said, “It’s clearly a scam. There is a huge amount of money behind this whole thing. There’s a lot of influence peddling [emphasis added] going on in a lot of areas, including law enforcement. And, what they have done is taken an old video poker machine, they’ve put a new box on it, they put some stickers on it to say this is not a gambling machine, and that’s supposed to make it legal.”
Senator Knotts filed his campaign disclosures this evening for the last quarter and with a thorough review of his contributions, it is apparent that of the $49,000 he raised, over $15,000 of these contributions are from individuals and businesses that are involved in the gaming industry. Interestingly enough, just a few weeks ago, Senator Knotts defended the new gambling machines while conservative legislators attempted to ban them from use. It should be further noted that Senators appointed the magistrates that previously determined these new machines to be legal.
In addition to $15,000 from the gaming industry reported on his disclosures today, Knotts also received large contributions from individuals and businesses that own convenience stores, which are known to house these machines and benefit from their legality.
Finally, there were numerous obscure companies listed in his filings that did not produce any information on the internet. These companies gave thousands of dollars to the Knotts campaign.
In contrast, Katrina Shealy, his only opponent, raised over $20,000 in small contributions from hundreds of real people, with real addresses, who want real reform for South Carolina.
Senator Knotts has already broken the law with numerous campaign violations and he appears to now be taking money for his defense of the latest attempt to legalize gambling in South Carolina. Lexington County and South Carolina deserve honest, principled representation; not a Senator whose influence to protect illegal gaming is bought and paid for.
As a former manager in a Las Vegas casino resort, I have seen first hand the dangers that gambling can pose on lower-income families. Night after night, I would watch tipped employees take all of their cash tips, walk across the street to another casino, and burn through most or all of what they had just made. Lower income families, especially in a difficult economy as we see today, may view these machines as more than just a few minutes of entertainment. These machines become falsely perceived as a way to improve their financial situation, thinking that the next pull or press of a button on that machine will make them the winner of a big payout.
I have also seen the wife of a well-to-do casino manager loose her job over her gambling addiction as well. Gambling addiction is an equal opportunity offender.
What may seem like an innocent game of chance to some can pose real social and economic problems for South Carolina families, because more often than not, the player looses and “The House” wins. Those multi-billion dollar casinos in Vegas are a testament to that fact. The service station owners supporting Knotts have obviously figured that out and want a piece of the action.
The Gaming Industry lobby is one of the largest and most powerful in our country. They have managed to twist and turn numbers, and provide convoluted promises to the states and cities that have allowed them entry with promises of big money, big jobs, and big businesses to follow. More often than not, the biggest businesses that follow them are Payday Lenders.
We do not need gambling in South Carolina, and we do not need State Senators who are bought and paid for like Jake Knotts. We DO need elected officials like Katrina Shealy. Go Katrina!