An attorney representing economic development in Houston County and  the developer of Country Crossing entertainment venue react to Federal Judge Myron Thompson’s refusal to hear a request for a restraining order to stop Illegal Gambling Task Force raid.  Here’s the full statement.

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Statement from Country Crossing Regarding Federal Ruling – February 1, 2010 

Today, Judge Thompson asked both parties to resolve their issues in a state court declaratory action. This is a process that we have already begun, and we expect that the state court will hold that our bingo operations are legal and in full compliance with the law. It is clear that the federal judge wants the parties to resolve their dispute in state court before seeking relief in federal court.  

It remains to be seen whether Mr. Tyson will participate in the civil declaratory judgment action, notwithstanding the federal court’s admonition that he do so. We agree that these issues should be decided without the drama that the task force has engaged in so far, and we look forward to the resolution of this matter in the orderly process that the federal judge suggests. 

We note that the federal judge acknowledged that our constitutional entitlement to relief is not clear on the current record, which clearly does not discount the possibility that such relief may be appropriate in the future. 

We believe that if Mr. Tyson does not follow the federal judge’s instructions to resolve this matter orderly, we may be asking the federal judge for relief again in the future – particularly if our constitutional rights cannot be safeguarded in state court. But, we fully intend to honor the federal judge’s request that we first exhaust all attempts to resolve this matter in state court.

Will Matthews – Attorney,  Houston Economic Development Association

Ronnie Gilley – Developer, Country Crossing

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

Here in the WSFA 12 Newsroom, we got the first hint that something was up at Victoryland/Quincy’s 777 early on the evening of Thursday January 29th.  A raid on the state’s largest bingo operation?  Nah.  The Illegal Gambling Task Force had its Supreme Court test case in Lowndes County without taking on Milton McGregor and his attorneys….and a carefully crafted local constitutional amendment saying his bingo is legal.  But the Task Force also had a new, aggressive, hard-nosed, veteran prosecutor – John Tyson.

In the words of Gomer Pyle: “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”

Dozens of State Trooper cars arrived en masse in the middle of the night, ordering patrons to cash out and get out.  But that’s about as far as the raid got.  McGregor was a step ahead of the Task Force.  He was armed with a restraining order which stopped the Troopers dead in their tracks…for now.  Back to Macon County in a moment.

About 120 miles to the south in Houston County, agents moved in on the Country Crossing entertainment center and it’s new bingo pavilion.  They were turned away there, too.  Not by a court order, but some logging chain and a few padlocks around the entrances to the building.  The owners new the Task Force was coming and shut down before the cops could rush the place.  Ronnie Gilley’s lawyers told him it would take a search warrant for the agents to go inside…and they didn’t have one.  Foiled again.

But not so fast.

Within hours of being turned away at the door, Task Force Commander John Tyson was back before the Alabama Supreme Court asking for them to dissolve the restraining order and let the raid begin.  But by midday and into the afternoon, no word from the Court.  Then late in the day, word that the Court had told McGregor’s lawyers to give them all the reasons why the Task Force shouldn’t raid the place…no later than 5 p.m. Monday, February 1st. The Court gave the Task Force until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 2nd to answer Victoryland’s filing. 

The Court is expected to have its decision as early as Wednesday, February 3rd. 

So what are the odds the nine justices will turn away the raid?  If you base your answer on their recent decisions regarding electronic bingo, my money’s on the Task Force.  The key element here is the Cornerstone case….the company that built the bingo operation in Whitehall in Lowndes County. State agents shut Whitehall down last year.  The Task Force had the element of surprise on its side back then.  Employees were caught completely off guard as the agents hurriedly ran into the building.  Many of the officers had their weapons drawn….leaving unsuspecting custodians, office workers and security people to do little more than raise their hands and do as they were told.

It was the Cornerstone case that resulted in the Court defining bingo in Alabama.  The justices decided the game is played on a car with a grid of five rows intersecting with five columns…numbers are called one at a time…just like the game you played as a kid. 

The likelihood of a raid at Victoryland increased with a new Alabama Supreme Court ruling released the day of the aborted raids.  In that case, the Court ruled that electronic bingo approved by the Asheville City Council in 2008 violated state law.  The sheriff in St. Clair County had resisted efforts to open bingo operations and had called the governor for help in defeating the plan.  Today, the Court put another legal stake in the heart of electronic bingo with this decision.

What makes you think it will be any different in Macon County?

Before we back the moving vans up to Victoryland’s front door and start loading up the bingo machines, it should be noted that the local constitutional amendment that authorized electronic bingo in Macon County is believed to be more finely crafted than some of the others.  At least one lawyer we talked with says that may be a factor.

Meanwhile in Montgomery…

With the attempted raid, the icy relations between Governor Bob Riley and his one-time friend Attorney General Troy King took a turn for the worse.  The AG politely send a written warning to the governor to consider the consequences of his actions.  The governor fired back that King appeared to be more concerned about the gambling bosses and changing the law…than enforcing what’s on the books. (You can read both their epistles on wsfa.com)

So what’s next?

Anybody’s bet! But right now, I think the money in Vegas would be on the Task Force….but don’t ever count out anybody like Milton McGregor who has hundreds of millions of dollars on the line.

Who is your money on? 

Illegal Gambling Task Force Commander, John Tyson spoke to reporters this morning about the attempted raids at Victoryland and Country Crossing.  Click here to watch WSFA 12 News coverage of  his news conference.

Here’s a new article from the Dothan Eagle newspaper with reaction from the Houston County District Attorney, Doug Valeska.   The D.A. says he’s been the target of “nasty” letters and phone calls because of his inaction on the governor’s Illegal Gambling Task Force’s attempts to raid the new Country Crossing entertainment center.

Click here for the story.

Here is our web story on the raid by the governor’s Illegal Gambling Task Force:

SHORTER & DOTHAN, AL (WSFA) - Governor Riley’s anti-gambling task force organized gambling raids on two big entertainment centers in South Alabama early Friday morning.

State troopers moved into Victoryland gaming center and demanded that all non-employees collect their winnings and exit the facility.

Our news reporter Bethany Wales was able to speak with a couple of gamers who were asked to leave the premises. Their responses were:

“It was scary. I don’t know what’s going on. I got out.”

“Victoryland has been around for a lot of years, and it has helped Macon county out.”

Victoryland workers are expected to report to work as usual.

Wales said the atmosphere was filled with anticipation as if something was about to happen. About a dozen moving trucks moved in front of the premises, but later parked in the nearby parking lot.

She said the attorney for Victoryland, Fred Gray, and the chief of the anti-gambling task force, John Tyson, have been in a meeting with a judge all morning. Victoryland managed to get a temporary restraining order signed against the task force, but state troopers still remain inside the center.

Governor Bob Riley and the president of Victoryland, Milton McGregor, have been at odds all week. McGregor hired a private investigator to follow the former chief of the governor’s task force.

The former chief, David Barber, resigned after his reported winnings at a Mississippi casino.

The scene is much calmer at Country Crossing. The building was chained and locked around 12:00 o’clock this morning.

State troopers are still waiting outside the facility for orders to raid.

Months ago, the Supreme Court ruled that “the definition of bingo is a game that is played with cards and numbers called out individually.” Given that definition, Governor Riley said it was a go to raid gaming centers.

WSFA 12 News will keep you updated on further developing details.

Congressman Artus Davis comments on the possibility of a raid on the Country Crossing entertainment venue in Dothan:

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     “Raiding gaming facilities in the middle of the night means that thousands of Houston County residents would wake up unemployed the next morning.   That’s the wrong approach in this economic climate. 

     I would prefer that Alabama voters and voters in Houston County have an opportunity to vote on the legal definition of gaming. 

     If voters statewide approve such a referendum, it should be up to the state to regulate and tax gambling interests so that they pay their fair share of taxes just as other Alabama businesses are expected to do.”

State Democrats blast Riley’s “anti-gambling push” in Dothan. Here’s the party’s statement:
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Dothan, AL – The Chair of the Houston County Democratic Party today has called on Houston County citizens of all political stripes to rise up against Governor Riley’s attempt to shut down the Country Crossing Development through his gaming task force. Houston County Democratic Chairwoman Jennifer Adams today says that Riley’s attempt to close a legal, private development is costing Houston County workers their jobs and hurting the local governments’ that are benefitting from the new revenue Country Crossing has generated. Just last week Country Crossing presented $1.6 million in fees to the people of Houston County for water, schools and public libraries.

“Bob Riley needs to stay out of Houston County’s local affairs and concentrate on creating new jobs instead of killing jobs in the Wiregrass. Country Crossings and its investors have followed the law and Houston County citizens have the legal constitutional right to self-determination on this issue. Bob Riley needs to quit helping the Mississippi Choctaw gaming interests and stay out of Houston County.” Adams stated today.

State Democratic Chairman Joe Turnham supports the Houston County Democratic position and says that Riley has circumvented his constitutional authority. “The people of Houston County have every right to self-determination on the issue of Country Crossing. Governor Riley’s task force is his way of bypassing the Attorney General, the Houston County Commission, the Houston County Sheriff and the local District Attorney who have authority on this matter. His actions are absolutely bizarre.” Turnham noted.

Adams says that both Riley and the Republican Party will pay a price at the ballot box throughout the Wiregrass in November for meddling in a Houston County matter and for killing free enterprise, private investment and jobs in the Wiregrass.

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Hold the phone!  There’s been yet ANOTHER development in the bingo battle in southeast Alabama.  Tonight, WSFA 12 News obtained a copy of a letter faxed to Governor Bob Riley from Houston County District Attorney Doug Valeska.  The DA had asked the governor for assistance in his investigation of the bingo operation at Country Crossing near Dothan.  In the letter, Valeska writes that he’s aware of the resignation of Task Force Commander David Barber after he won $2,300 gambling at a casino in Mississippi.  Valeska says Barber’s actions “cast a pall over our work here in Houston County.” 

The District Attorney writes, “You have stated numerous times that your Task Force’s involvement here was based on my invitation and request for assistance.  In light of these developments, I am asking that you deem my invitation suspended until such time as we can consider the impact of these admission on our work.”  Valeska concluded by writing, “In the meantime, I trust you will suspend any further involvement in Houston County.”

Earlier Friday (1/15), the Alabama Supreme Court threw out a restraining order that blocked the Task Force from raiding Country Crossing.  Late Friday afternoon a federal judge denied a request from Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver for another restraining order to keep the agents out of the newly opened facility.

WSFA 12 News is attempting to get reaction from the Governor’s office.  We’ll advise on any further developments.