TICKETNo. 1 of 8
Charles Taylor owns a building running 22 illegal slot machines, just a half mile from a Lee County middle school.1
A reporter for The Assembly walked right in and counted them: Las Vegas-style slot games. Feed in cash, and the staff pays you out. The sign out front has a gun on it.
In North Carolina, only tribal casinos can run machines like these. Anywhere else, operating five or more is a felony. Taylor’s building has 22.
The law doesn’t stop at whoever runs them. It is illegal to allow them to be operated. Taylor is the landlord, and he still hasn’t said what he knew.
While our kids are in the classroom, illegal gambling is happening just down the road.
Sources The Assembly, 10/11/26; The Rant, 10/12/26; N.C. General Statutes 14-306.1A and 14-309; Lee County deed records.