Victoryland in AL Center of Controversy
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010The 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.

