MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) -- The manager of a landmark Myrtle Beach arcade was for years stealing hundreds of thousands to finance a lavish lifestyle that included buying musical instruments and escaping debt, a recently filed lawsuit alleges.

The Oct. 8 complaint filed in Horry County Common Pleas Court by the estate of Dixie Amusement Co. founder Richard Shelby accuses one-time employee Michael Brian Sutton of funneling more than $777,000 into his own pocket.

Shelby's father in 1970 opened the 911 N. Ocean Blvd. arcade under his Dixie Amusement Co. brand. Once he died in 2009, his wife Mary took over operations until transferring its stock to Richard in 2016.

Sutton, according to the lawsuit, handled day-to-day business at the arcade from 2016 until 2023.

In the fall of 2023, Shelby

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