Bingo in Bama-They Ain't Puttin Dibs on Cards - That's for Sure

The feud about gambling in Alabama rages on. In a previous article (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2703761/ill_bet_ya_a_dime_gambling_wins_in.html?cat=8) I predicted that the real possibility of bloodshed is on the horizon if this conflict gets any hotter. Well, as the headline in the Mobile Press Register read on February 20^th the bingo feud definitely burns hotter. David Lanoue, chairman of the University of Alabama's political science department, has commented on the magnitude of the dissention. That same article includes words like Nazi and Mafia to describe what gambling supporters in the state are being called. One ad running on TV paid for by anti-gambling interests shows cigar-chomping mobsters plotting around a poker table. Every headline includes the word 'war'.

There is not one day that goes by when the Alabama newspapers do not have an article regarding gambling on the front page. On February 21 the same newspaper reported that more than $2.2M was given to PACs in the last three days of 2009 and they expect this to be a drop in the bucket. Milton McGregor has owned dog tracks in Alabama for years where gambling has gone on all the time. He now owns VictoryLand casino and is seen as one of the deepest pockets when it comes to PAC money. VictoryLand is the state's largest casino with 6000 automated bingo machines. So much money is going to fight this battle that the opponents of gambling have had to admit that it's going to be hard for them to find the funds to fight this battle. Right now VictoryLand as well as Country Crossing and White Hall Entertainment Center are closed to prevent the Governor's Task Force from Raiding and taking the machines.

More than 10 years ago the voters in Alabama voted down the opportunity to have a state lottery. But today the job opportunites presented by these gaming establishments is far outweighing any religious or moral sentiment. These gaming houses are in depressed areas of the state and there is no chance that lost jobs will be replaced any time soon.

The political cartoon in the Register on February 20^th shows a family believing they are seeing a civil war reenactment with soldiers dressed in rebel attire. But they are corrected and told they are seeing citizens who have been deputized to defend against the 'guvner's' gamblin' raids. And their guns are drawn. No bloodshed yet. But stay tuned.