Lake Area Eagle Stop Convenience Store Raided: Owner Faces Illegal Gambling Charges

MILLER COUNTY, Mo. — The owner of Eagle Stop convenience stores has been charged with promoting gambling as the Missouri Attorney General cracks down on illegal slot machines statewide.

Owner Anthony Gier, of Eldon, faces multiple felony charges in Miller and Boone counties after a sting operation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Gier Oil Company has more than 50 Eagle Stop locations across the state.

On April 13, a Trooper went undercover into the Bagnell Eagle Stop in Lake Ozark to investigate illegal gambling devices in the store, according to the probable cause statement filed in Miller County. He allegedly found four devices and played on one of the machines, cashing $122 at the payout kiosk.

Bagnell Eagle Stop.jpg — Bagnell Eagle Stop's Facebook

The Trooper said in the statement that there was no pre-reveal function on the machine, which allows players to preview the outcome of the upcoming play. Therefore, the device was operating as a straight slot machine.

A similar investigation took place on April 14 at the I-70 Eagle Stop on North Providence Road in Columbia, according to the probable cause statement filed in Boone County. This Trooper also allegedly found four devices functioning as conventional slot machines and an electronic kiosk to cash winnings.

Gier was charged with eight 1st Degree counts of promoting gambling between the two counties.

On Monday, May 11, the Patrol executed a search warrant at the Bagnell Eagle Stop to seize the devices and kiosk. The reported total amount of money contained in the machines was $15,985 in cash.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said in a press conference Tuesday that this was one of many search warrants executed in Missouri on Monday, which reportedly seized 25 illegal slot machines, five "gray market" machines, five payment kiosks, and nearly $60,000 in cash.

Hanaway Gambling Sting Conference .jpg — Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway held a press conference Tuesday, May 12, on a successful illegal gaming sting operation across the state.

She added that the common practice in the industry is to collect money from these machines once a week.

"We believe it's a billion dollar industry," Hanaway said. "It's unregulated, untaxed, and it's a cash industry where there are likely to be other crimes hidden beneath the surface."

Last month, Missouri's largest operator of video slot machines—Torch Electronics—began shutting down its devices amid pressure from Hanaway's office and a joint state-federal investigation.

Hanaway estimated that Torch operated roughly 60% of machines in the state. She said in the press conference that none of the machines subject to Monday's warrants belonged to Torch Electronics.

Torch Electronics Gaming Machines/Video Slot Machines at a gas station in Kingdom City, Missouri in March 2026.
photo by Nathan Bechtold

"I would hope that by now, anyone who has one of these machines in their convenience store or small business is on notice that we are coming," Hanaway said. "The best thing that they can do to avoid trouble with the law is to voluntarily unplug those machines...if the state and the federal government have to spend huge resources chasing you and getting you to shut down, the penalties are going to be much more harsh."

As for Gier, he is scheduled to appear at the Miller County Courthouse on June 10, and later at the Boone County Courthouse on June 26.

"The best thing for Missouri and Missourians is if the proprietors of these machines will stop engaging in criminal activity," Hanaway said. "Shut it down."