It blanks out anything else,'' she said. That makes it exciting. According a recent report by the state Department of Revenue, the games pay out almost 72 percent of what they take in. However, Revenue Director Burnett Maybank said he suspects there's been some underreporting of revenue by operators, and the machines could be paying out less. In 1998, all of the state's machines will be required to be hooked via modem to a supercomputer that can track wins and losses on a daily basis.
Owners currently monitor themselves.
At the same time, the Legislature is considering a proposal that would reinstate bans on payouts from the games in Aiken and 11 other counties statewide. In November, the state Supreme Court threw out the results of the 1994 vote. The high court said a statewide criminal law can not be enforced on a county-bycounty basis. Brenda Williams enjoys the games but said she knows her limit. I know what they can do to you.