Largest casino in Ala. reopens, judge blocks raid in latest chapter of state’s gambling fight

Largest casino in Ala. reopens; judge blocks raid

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama’s largest casino reopened Friday, shortly 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, opened as 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.

McGregor had shut down the casino and other parts of the entertainment venue on Feb. 1 when more than 100 law enforcement officers prepared for a raid, which ultimately was called off.

The governor says the bingo machines are Vegas-style slots — which are illegal in the state — and has forced the shut down nearly all the state’s more than 30 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.

The commander of the governor’s task force, John Tyson, said McGregor can expect a visit at some point.

“If they are not legal, you can count on us to enforce the law,” Tyson said.

Circuit Judge Tom Young of Alexander City, whose jurisdiction includes Macon County, issued a temporary restraining order saying Tyson doesn’t have authority in Macon County because he is Mobile County’s district attorney. The order was written so that it limited Tyson’s ability to act in any county other than Mobile.

“This order is a poster child for corruption,” Tyson said.

He said he will seek to have it lifted because “it attempts to provide protection for all of the illegal casinos in Alabama.”

For now, VictoryLand is the only major casino to reopen. Spokesmen for two other resort-style casinos — White Hall Entertainment Center in Lowndes County and Country Crossing in Dothan — said they are remaining closed.

VictoryLand surrendered its liquor license prior to reopening. McGregor, the casino’s owner, said that means authorities can’t raid the casino without a search warrant. State rules allow liquor license holders to be inspected at any time without a warrant.

“You’ve got to have a search warrant or a court order to come out here legally now. Otherwise you are breaking the law,” McGregor said.

The Greenetrack casino in Eutaw, the only other non-Indian casino open in the state, turned in its liquor license earlier and remained open.

Harold Carson, a 69-year-old retired state employee from Tuskegee, said he normally visited VictoryLand once or twice a month. He came out Friday to show his support for the rural county’s largest employer and taxpayer.

“This is just about all Macon County has. Our governmental revenue is already inadequate. Without this facility, it would be much worse,” he said.

A few hundred workers were called back for the reopening, and hundreds of others are expected to be called back when the entire facility reopens later this month.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson plans to lead a rally at the state Capitol on Saturday in support of laid-off casino workers.

At a news conference Friday, he urged the governor to resolve the bingo dispute in court rather than with another raid. He said the sight of state troopers lining up outside a business in a predominantly black county would remind people nationwide of the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma 45 years ago.

On March 7, 1965, state troopers beat voting rights marchers trying to leave Selma for the state Capitol in Montgomery.

Bessie Jones, a 46-year-old homemaker from Mt. Meigs, shouted “Thank you, Mr. McGregor,” when the doors opened.

She said she normally visited VictoryLand two or three times a week before it closed but had been going to a Creek Indian casino for the past month. The state has no authority over Alabama’s three Indian casinos, which have remained open.

Macon County Commission Chairman Louis Maxwell said he didn’t understand the fuss over electronic bingo. When asked what people would do if a raid is attempted, he said, “This community is ready to protect the jobs of the people here. I plan to stand with them.”

He declined to elaborate.

The reopening of VictoryLand came one day after the Macon County sheriff and district attorney watched a demonstration of the games by a gambling engineering expert and declared them legal.