Largest casino in Ala. reopens, judge blocks raid in latest chapter of state’s gambling fight
By APFriday, March 5, 2010
Largest casino in Ala. reopens; judge blocks raid
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama’s largest casino has reopened, after a judge ruled that the governor’s anti-gambling task force could not raid the gambling hall or seize any of its 6,400 electronic bingo machines.
The doors to VictoryLand in Shorter, a town of 461 about 20 miles east of Montgomery, reopened Friday after being closed for a month. Owner Milton McGregor gambled that the court order and his surrender of the facility’s liquor license would keep Gov. Bob Riley’s task force at bay.
The governor says the bingo machines are Vegas-style slots, which are illegal in the state, and has shut down nearly all the state’s casinos to halt their spread. The fight has stirred old civil rights tensions in poor, black areas where officials argue the gambling halls provide needed jobs and tax dollars.
