8 arrested in high-stakes poker bust

MOUNT OLIVE -- Working with Mount Olive police, state Alcohol Law Enforcement agents busted a high-stakes poker game in Seven Springs on Thursday.

Eight people were arrested for violations of the state gambling laws. Agents seized $23,700 in cash and a poker table, cards and chips during the midday raid at 2169 Pine View Cemetery Road, according to a media release.

Arrested were Kay D. Smith, Harold Newcomb, Frankie S. Walker, Edward E. Walters, Prentice J. Newsome, John W. Smith, Ernest L. Vinson and Robert H. Davenport, Jr.

John Ledford, the state’s director of Alcohol Law Enforcement, said the agency investigated after receiving multiple complaints from the public regarding illegal poker games at the site.

“High-stakes card games like this one are illegal in the state, and I commend our agents and officers with the Mount Olive Police Department for taking action,” Ledford said.