“No one is above the law and today’s ruling from the Supreme Court reaffirms this basic principle of our state and our nation.  By removing Judge Hardaway from this case, our highest court has sent a message out loud and clear:  no longer can casinos in this state run to their favorite local judges to try and stop law enforcement officers from enforcing the law.”

Riley’s office added: 

“Upon today’s lifting of the injunction, the Task Force discovered that Greenetrack’s slot machines had been emptied of all their cash during the time Judge Hardaway’s illegal orders were in effect. This shows why the casino bosses pushed Judge Hardaway to issue those injunctions even though they knew they were illegal. The casino bosses wanted to abscond with the hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash these illegal machines had already taken from hard-working Alabamians.”

The 7-2 decision in the Alabama Supreme Court gives the governor’s task force on illegal gambling a clear edge in the legal battle over electronic bingo.

The court’s decision Thursday (view here)  led Gov. Bob Riley and his task force commander, John Tyson, to declare raids will continue. Watch Riley and Tyson comments here.

Track 2: Legislative

Birmingham Southern College political science professor Natalie Davis says the legal fight will only intensify the legislative battle.

“That is pressing forward and we may see more of that…  lots of money is on the table and it is an election year,” Davis says.

Still, Rep. John Rogers (D-Birmingham), who is sponsoring one of those gambling bills this session, does not believe it can pass.

Track 3: Perception

Davis says the battle for the “hearts and minds” of the people has become complicated because of the discussion of jobs and revenue in counties depending on these bingo facilities.

“People are conflicted. They love Bob Riley…. there is some evidence they don’t like the raids.”

If a constitutional amendment were to clear the legislature and go to the people, Davis dismisses claims from anti-gambling activists that they won’t have enough money to compete with pro-gaming powers in a campaign cycle.

“I think everybody will have enough to play.”

Watch the Natalie Davis interview here.

Rick Journey

Clarification on an earlier post:

Victoryland owner Milton McGregor asked for a clarification on the closing of the gaming center at the facility in Macon County.  He says the computers being upgraded are not those that operate the electronic bingo machines. He says they are part of the “point of sale” system for transactions throughout the complex including the hotel, lounges and restaurants.   

As for the bingo machine, McGregor insists that all his machines have already been made compliant with an Alabama Supreme Court ruling last year that set out the legal definition of bingo.  He says the machines have been certified by Gaming Laboratories International.

The Governor’s Illegal Gambling Task Force is set to submit its response to Victoryland’s filing yesterday as to why a circuit court’s restraining order stopping a raid on Victoryland should be upheld.

White says the legal brouhaha brought on by the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling is bogus.

“They know Victoryland is legal…. they understand the only way to come in and take the equipment is for them to act in an illegal manner,” White says.

White’s comments come ahead of a 5pm deadline with the Alabama Supreme Court to file briefs concerning the government’s appeal of Friday’s temporary restraining order that blocked a state raid of Victoryland. The task force attorneys must respond by 5pm tomorrow.

White also points beyond the legal battle where many observers give them a better chance at success… the legislature.

“Unless we get a statewide regulation of gaming you are going to have a situation where the citizens of Alabama get no revenue, no benefit,” he says.

“Its really like a law school exam,” former federal magistrate John Carroll says.

“Is there probable cause to believe these machines violate the law.”

The current dean of Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law says “we’re in this very, very interesting situation where we have all these different ordinances and all these different authorities and government is trying to shut down gambling operations and the courts are in the middle of it.”

While the Victoryland case goes before the state supreme court, Houston county’s Country Crossing focuses on a request before a federal judge today. Add to the confusion in Jefferson county, where an ordinance for the city of Midfield starts today allowing electronic bingo. The cash-strapped city hopes to bring in as much as $150,000 monthly in revenue from the ordinance.

Watch the full interview with White and Judge Carroll here.

Rick Journey

in an opinion released today, the Alabama Supreme Court says electronic bingo is illegal in St. Clair County.  The governor’s Illegal Gambling Task Force had assisted St. Clair County’s sheriff who had resisted attempts to open a bingo operation.  Here is the governor’s reaction to the latest Alabama Supreme Court ruling:

____________________

From Governor Bob Riley’s Press Office:

The Alabama Supreme Court today issued an opinion that again makes clear that the so-called “electronic bingo” machines being used by casino bosses across the State are illegal.  

In a follow-up to its November opinion that identified six elements that are required for legal bingo, the Court today made clear that “human interaction in playing the game” must be present for a game to qualify as bingo.  In other words, a machine cannot play the game of bingo for a person.  Specifically, the Court held that bingo requires a player “(1) to pay attention to the numbers or designations announced, (2) to physically act to determine and then to mark whether they have a matching number or symbol, [and] (3) to recognize that they have a winning card and be the first to announce this fact.”  If the game is not one where the player could lose by making mistakes in marking his card, then it is not bingo according to the Court.   

Although the case arose out of St. Clair County, the decision on the meaning of “bingo” applies statewide.  Even though there are different constitutional amendments pertaining to bingo for various counties, the Supreme Court has already ruled that “bingo” means the same thing in all the amendments. 

“None of the slot machines being used at casinos in Alabama comes anywhere close to meeting this definition of bingo,” said Governor Bob Riley.  “A person could play these machines blind-folded and still win.  Although the previous court decisions were crystal clear that the machines are illegal, this decision absolutely slams the door shut on any argument that these slot machines qualify as bingo.” 

“The Court’s decision is hardly a surprise.  Anyone with any common sense knows that these slot machines are not bingo.  Law enforcement officials across the State cannot turn their heads any longer to the illegal activity that is occurring,” said Governor Riley.  “The gambling bosses have run out of excuses, and these slot-machine casinos must be shut down.”