MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Gov. Bob Riley's gambling task force won another victory Thursday when the Alabama Supreme Court tossed out a court order blocking a raid on the state's largest casino.
In a 7-2 decision, the court said a Macon County judge lacked jurisdiction to halt the pre-dawn raid Jan. 29.
"This is another victory for the rule of law," Gov. Bob Riley said Thursday night.
VictoryLand, 15 miles east of Montgomery, closed its casino Monday night. Shortly before the Supreme Court's ruling came out Thursday, the company closed all other facilities, including its dog track, restaurants and new luxury hotel. The closure was designed to keep the Governor's Task Force on Illegal Gambling from
returning without getting a judge to approve a search warrant.
Task force commander John Tyson said last week a search warrant was not needed for the thwarted raid because the casino was open and undercover officers were inside observing the gambling machines. He declined to reveal his next step Thursday night, but said he was reviewing the complete closure of VictoryLand.
The casino's attorney issued a warning to Tyson and state police.
"Victoryland remains closed and anyone coming onto the property without a search warrant will be considered a trespasser. This is fair warning to John Tyson that entering private property without a search warrant is illegal," VictoryLand attorney Peter J. Tepley said.
More than 100 state police were poised at VictoryLand's front door before dawn Jan. 29 when the casino got Circuit Judge Tom Young to block the raid. Tyson appealed to the Supreme Court, resulting in Thursday's ruling.
The Supreme Court ruling did not address the legality of the 6,000 machines that VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor calls legal electronic bingo and that Tyson calls illegal slot machines.
Thursday's ruling came one week after the Alabama Supreme Court blocked electronic bingo games from operating in Ashville in north Alabama.
The Legislature took steps Thursday to weigh in on the gambling issue.
A proposed constitutional amendment was introduced that would let state voters decide if they want to legalize electronic bingo games in some places.
The legislation by Rep. Marcel Black, D-Tuscumbia, and Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, would call for Alabama voters to decide in the general election Nov. 2 if they want to allow electronic bingo at some locations, tax it and regulate it.
It would also create a state gaming commission to regulate the games. The amendment calls for a tax on the money paid into the machines, minus winnings.
Bedford said he supports the proposed amendment because it would shut down illegal gambling operations and make legal gaming centers pay their fair share of taxes.
The bill would allow electronic bingo at greyhound dog tracks in Mobile, Greene, Macon and Jefferson counties. It would also allow the games at the Country Crossing complex in Dothan, at White Hall in Lowndes County, at a second undetermined location in Birmingham and at undecided locations in the 4th and 5th Congressional districts.
Black said he hopes a statewide vote on the issue would put to rest any questions about the legality of the electronic bingo games.
"I saw this as the way to go before we got into the current mess that we are in," Black said. "I think the people want to put this issue to rest and the only way to do that is to let them vote."
A gambling opponent, Rev. Joe Godfrey, executive director of the Alabama Citizen Action Program, said a referendum on electronic bingo would be slanted because the owners of casinos and gambling machines would have the resources to outspend gambling opponents in the campaign leading to the vote.
"The gambling interests and the machine owners stand to lose millions on this," Godfrey said.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, asked Riley to stop his task force from conducting further raids until the Legislature can resolve the issue. He said that would allow the thousands of workers at bingo operations in Dothan, Macon County, Greene County and at White Hall in Lowndes County to continue working.
"Not only are the raids unsafe, they are seriously and negatively affecting the quality of life for families who are unable to buy food and take care of other essentials without a job," Rogers said.
Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. said Thursday the Legislature needs to define what is bingo and what is not. He said he's not supporting any particular bill, but the Legislature needs to act because the bingo issue "continues to monopolize Alabama's time, attention, and valuable state resources."
The House on Thursday passed a resolution by Democratic Rep. Pebblin Warren of Tuskegee establishing a House-Senate committee to study electronic bingo.
In other developments, the attorney for Country Crossing in Dothan, Jim Parkman, said he has advised the casino to remain closed until it can get a court ruling that its machines are legal.
Parkman said he hopes to get that ruling through a case pending before a judge in southeast Alabama, but no trial date has been set.
Victoryland, like Country Crossing, has shut down its electronic bingo machines.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
