F.R.E.E. Ministry Video Poker Casino (Loris, SC)

If you live just north of the NC/SC state line, you might make a quick hop over the border for three reasons: cheaper gas, fireworks, and the occasional peach. But in the late '90s, there was a fourth reason: video poker. While you could find them in convenience stores all across South Carolina, video poker casinos started popping up all along the NC/SC and SC/GA state lines. Many of the ones we remember looked like castles, making crossing the border into South Carolina seem like a royal experience back in the day.

In 1999, the South Carolina Supreme Court outlawed video poker machines. Soon after the ban went into effect in June of 2000, the industry dried up overnight, leaving many of these casinos abandoned.

Some were destroyed. Some slowly rotted away. Some were repurposed. This former video poker casino in Loris, SC, is now a church known as F.R.E.E. Ministry.

What To Know Before You Go

GPS Coordinates: (34.132306, -78.875300)
Location: 103 Sky Bow Branch, Loris

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