Nichols also says that if he were a gambling man, his money would be on someone eventually getting charged in connection with the card games. So far, though, no one's been arrested.

In the meantime, the Sheriff's Office has amassed a tidy loot of more than a dozen slightly-used felt tables, lots of playing cards, stacks of poker chips, surveillance cameras and, biggest of all, more than $50,500 cash (although authorities haven't disclosed the exact amount).

The sheriff contends these weren’t buddies getting together but arranged games to turn a profit for the organizer.  If that’s the case, why wasn’t the organizer arrested on the spot?  Later in the article it becomes immediately clear what’s going on:

"Any money seized ... is subject to forfeiture," said John Gill, special counsel to Nichols . "If we say gambling occurred, regardless of whether we prosecute a specific person, we can seize the property and the money."

So what ever happened to due process?  I guess the Knox County Sheriff threw it out with the garbage when they discovered the county debt is increasing without restraint.  What better way to supplement it than through forfeitures that do not require a prosecution.

State Sponsored Criminal Count: 23

Because what better way to whittle your deficit down than to steal money from friends gambling in their garage.  It’s 100% taxation without due process or legal recourse for the tax payer, how can the state loose?