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Posts Tagged ‘Riley’

Victoryland in AL Center of Controversy

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

The state of Alabama has been in turmoil due to the gambling law changes. Like other states, Alabama’s legislators have been debating out what to do with the hobby. The biggest problem is whether or not to legalize it. Other states are looking at it from a financial perspective. They believe that it offers them the perfect opportunity to bring in millions of tax revenue dollars. Without gambling there are few other options for bringing in the dollars needed to overcome diminished deficits and state budgetary requirements. Still, despite the overwhelming dollars available, there are problems with accepting the new laws.
Alabama had added issues because its legislators already built a Task Force to handle illegal gambling. The task force was put together to uncover operations and shut them down. Unfortunately, the shut downs of casinos are included in the move. That means that casinos that employ thousands of state residents are going to be leaving those people in the unemployment lines. Due to the huge numbers involved, this is becoming a central issue. The casino Victoryland in Macon County is the focus of this problem. The casino employs thousands and has been fighting hard against the changes in gambling bans. The task force however has its own counter moves to employ.

Recently the Circuit Court Judge Tom Young turned away a request for a restraining order. The order was made to help Victoryland stay in up and running. Now, the Task Force is pushing to overturn the order. They want to move in on the casino and sweep it away under the new laws. Alabama residents are not torn on this issue—they believe that without the casino up and running it will put even more distress on their own finances. A huge selection of supporters are fighting hard for the casino to stay in operations and hoping that the restraining orders will be upheld. They know that it is a hard road to keep the doors of the casino open and this fight is far from over. There are still more moves to be made that could, or could not, keep gambling open within the state and thousands of residents employed.

AL Governor May Have to Rethink Position on Gambling

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Alabama is heavy in debates over gambling. It’s no secret that every state is fighting out the legalization and regulation of gambling. On one hand you have those who are pro gambling- they believe that with the proper regulation gambling can bring in millions of tax revenue dollars. In today’s economy, there are few businesses that would turn down the millions available in additional money. On the other hand, there is the anti gambling group of supporters who believe that the ethical cost of having legalized gambling is too much to deal with. They believe that inevitably gambling would bring about too many other problems like crime, money laundering and addictions. Without the proper ways to manage these issues, it would mean sure disaster for communities.

Alabama is a state that has taken on a strong stand against gambling and Governor Robert Riley has been instrumental in the pitch to keep gambling out of the state. He created a task force to specifically handle gambling activities by finding them and then breaking them up. Though he has a supportive team, now it seems that a new argument is coming into the mix. The governor is targeting Victory Land. Victory Land is a gambling location within the state that currently holds the title of the largest employer in the state. That means if it is shut down, it will send thousands of residents to the unemployment line. Considering that the economy is still close to the recession, things have not leveled out as of yet. It may put these people on the brink of financial troubles if they now lose their jobs. Governor Riley is under attack because if he does shut down the location, it will adversely affect a huge portion of the state’s population. In the past few months there have been legal moves by both sides to continue the move on Victory Land. If the location is closed down due to the Task Force, then that could mean the confiscation of over 6,000 gambling machines. That would cut back on the revenue the state brings in and seriously put residents in financial danger.

AL Still Strugging with Gambling Laws

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

Alabama is a state that is heavy in the debates over gambling laws. If you look at the progression, the state has steadily shored up rules regarding gambling over the past few months. The Governor Bob Riley has made critical moves to change the gambling laws within the state. Now, he has banned electronic bingo games from the state and a task force has finished its job of clearning the machines out of the borders. In 2009 the task force was tasked with finding and breaking up bingo machines and now, it seems that they are finished with the task. The closings were not without controversy though and some organizations are still voicing their opinion on the matter.

The forced closure of the bingo halls has been directly related to the closing of more htan thirty gambling locations. It means that there are more unemployed residents of the state and more empty buildings. Many bingo halls that were targeted for closure were located in lower-income areas and affected many black residents. Black leaders stepped in and held the position that their race was being deprived of valued jobs and money-generating activities. Many equated the move to desegregation and racial profiling stating that one race is being targeted for problems with the closing of the bingo halls and locations.

Task force leader John Tyson however spoke on the issue by stating that the state is not repeating former racial stirred issues. He believed that the task force rather was focused on protecting the innocent. Those who are in opposition to gambling believe that bringing in more gamblng locaitons will surely bring in money laundering, crime and more addictions for the state legislators to manage. Without the proper safeguards put into place, this could prove disasterous to the millions of residents within the state. There are currently no plans to increase the number of addiction services available. Still- the Governor held to his position stating that bingo machines are in essence slot machines and therefore should be banned and removed from the state’s boundaries. It will take time to rewrite the laws, but it seems that for now bingo machines in the electronic form are not going to be allowed.

Alabama Still Debating over Bingo

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Alabama is a state that has long been in the midst of debates over gambling and now bingo, namely, is up to the chopping block. Governor Bob Riley has been a force against gambling since the issue first arose a few years ago. He has consistently stood against it and pined for legislation to ban it within the state’s borders. Now he is taking aim at the state’s electronic bingo machines because they are an offshoot of slot machines, which are illegal within the state. So far the Governor has created a task force that is set to block all bingo machine gaming. The group must police the state and has already closed down over thirty gambling halls and left a few hundred people out of their jobs. Many of those closings happened in low-income, black areas and that is causing tension.

Black leaders are now issuing complaints about the loss of jobs in particular. They see the economy as still a harrowing one where jobs cannot be eliminated. They are also citing the losee of tax revenue from gambling as a reason why the governor should stop his adamant moves to thwart it altogether. Former state Senator George Clay is taking notice of the issue and citing the 1950s move to prevent desegregation of schools by shutting down the Macon County economy. He states that the moves Riley is making are reminiscent of the illegal moves made over a half-a-century ago.

John Tyson is the task force commander and he insists that this is not a repeat of the former incident. The one happening now does not prey on the innocent, as Tyson stated. Despite his argument, many are seeing a correlation between incidents since the communities involved are losing so much in the process. They claim that the governor is targeting low-income neighborhoods and they have no other reasonable replacement activities for jobs or revenue. Various individuals within the community are garnering help from political figures to stand against the governor’s move. They want to create a support system for laid-off bingo hall workers and a referendum vote to reopen the halls.

Alabama Gambling Debate Gaining Notice

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Whether it was his intention or not, Governor Robert Riley has made gambling a major issue in Alabama over the past year. The debates are only expected to get more heated this week with two of the biggest gambling establishments still closed. VictoryLand and Country Crossings closed after word of a planned gambling raid spread. The raid was to be carried out by Governor Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling. Initially a judge ruled it unconstitutional for the raid to take place, however, a recent court order found that the under state constitution a raid may be legal.
Adding to the drama of the gambling debate, Representative Marcel Black introduced legislation this year that would allow voters to decide whether to legalize and regulate video gambling in Alabama. According to the polls, residents would likely vote in such a legislation in hopes that such legislation would aid in fixing the state’s budget deficit.
Alabama was one of the state’s that was largely against expanded gambling, but the economy has changed the minds of many residents and there is statewide dissatisfaction with how the current governor is handling gambling issues.  Many people in Alabama rely on their jobs at VictoryLand and Country Crossings to pay their bills. With the recent closures, these employees are panicky, not knowing whether or not they will be laid off for good and this has changed the minds of many of those who previously would have voted against legalizing gambling.

This week could play a big part in that answer. Legislators are pushing for the Supreme Court to define the gambling that is taking place on the bingo machines.  While all of this is going on, the Governor Riley plans to increase raids to end illegal gambling.  It will be interesting to see if he is successful in keeping gambling out of the state. The big draw is that gambling is known to bring in millions of dollars to state coffers. Since the recession, many states are at a loss of finding ways to generate big dollars and gambling could be just the answer they need to elevate revenues.

Alabama Protesters Want to Vote on Victoryland Casino

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Outside of Alabama’s state capitol, bus-loads of protesters were waiting to have their voices heard.  “Let us vote!”, they cried enthusiastically. Over 100 people were packed onto the steps of the state capitol building to take a stand against Governor Riley’s task force on illegal gambling.  The state is currently waiting for the Alabama Supreme Court to rule if they can follow through on a planned raid of Victoryland Casino.  The hang up, however, comes from a push in Montgomery from politicians and others to bring this continuing issue to a statewide vote. Despite protesters calling the Governor and his task force to task, the Governor isn’t backing down. He has been a long-standing opponent of the move and knows full well what a huge task he has before him if he is going to stand strong. Thus far, he is managing to uphold his position and deny casinos.

“About a year ago we determined that there was absolutely no gray area, no ambiguity in the law. The law is crystal clear that you can not do what these casino’s are doing today,” said Governor Riley. Shortly after leaving the capitol, the Governor had to leave to go to Washington, DC, where he and other legislators were to meet with President Barack Obama regarding energy issues. The Governor did take the chance outside the capitol, however, to say that he had a choice to make when the Attorney General and some local officials were unwilling to act and that’s why he created the task force on illegal gambling. Some believe that it is only a matter time before Riley is forced to relent.

The debates are still going on, but one thing that the legislators do know is that by eliminating gambilng, they are turning away the millions in tax-dollar revenue that could potentially help turn the state’s economy around for the good. It will be time before any changes are seen and until them, both parties are left to duke it out over legalizing the games. No one knows where it will end up, but if Riley has his way, he will stand firm on the issue and not allow the casinos to continue running.

AL Governor Under Criticism for Gambling

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Governor Riley of Alabama took some criticism last year. Riley made a bet with Florida Governor Charlie Crist over a football game. He ended up paying off the bet, but it opened a slew of problems for him. Riley has been a strong critic of bingo gambling in his state. He has long petitioned against the games, believing them to be illegal. As with any state, Alabama is drawn sharply on two sides regarding gambling. There is one side who has been gambling for years on video and bingo machines. They believe it is too late to pull the plug on games now, after years of operating. On the other hand is the group who believes bingo gambling is detrimental to society as a whole and will inevitably increase crime, money laundering, addictions and the overall cost to sustain it.

Riley was a critic who worked hard to keep the games out of the state. Part of the problem was that Riley set himself up as a strong opponent of betting and gambling of any kind. He took the staunch side of anti-gambling, citing that it should never be allowed. Then, he made a public bet himself.

Once Riley lost the bet to Crist, he knew there were problems. Despite reservations, he paid off the bed to Crist. That opened the door to a barrage of critics saying that Riley is a hypocrite. He doesn’t want gambling and has spent so much time decrying it to the public, but then he makes bet himself. Alabama residents have been shocked with Riley’s efforts to take away their bingo halls. Riley has set up a task force to seek out these “illegal” gambling establishments, and confiscate the video machines the bingo was being played on. After Riley’s bet, many voters became disgruntled, drawing comparisons between bingo gambling and football gambling. One of the disgruntled residents even pointed out that bingo is legal in some states, while sports’ gambling is illegal in all states except for Nevada and Delaware. Now that Riley has partaken in gambling, it is going to be hard to go back and erase the mistake. It also will be hard for him to remain in the fight against bingo gambling.