Authorities raid 3 Woodbury businesses on gambling charges

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WOODBURY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Local police and state agents raided three businesses in Woodbury Thursday morning who accused of making illegal gambling payouts on coin-operated video machines.

Woodbury Police Chief Sam Baity told FOX 5’s Doug Evans they seized records and bank accounts at the Quick Stop, Fuel South and Rana’s Tobacco Outlet.

Baity said the businesses are only supposed to pay out novelty items as prizes from their video gaming machines.

But he said undercover agents received cash payments which are against state law.

According to the chief, players spent hours at a time sitting at the machines and losing money they should have been taking home to their families.

As a result, Chief Baity said kids are going hungry.

The raids were carried out in the Meriwether County town by Woodbury Police, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Department of Revenue and the Georgia Lottery Commission.

No one was taken into custody.

The chief said arrests will come after all the evidence of the raids has been processed.

The Woodbury raids followed a Wednesday night raid by the GBI, Georgia Lottery Commission, Georgia Department of Revenue and McDonough Police of a McDonough business for alleged violations of the state’s gambling laws.

In the McDonough case, officers arrested the owner of Motorhead’s Bar and Grill, 50-year-old Traci McDonald.