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? 

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.

Attorney General candidate Luther Strange weighs in on gambling issue and the role of the current AG.  His press release released 1/13/10
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala– Requests by leaders in Houston County for attorney general Troy King to litigate the legality of electronic bingo machines at Dothan’s Country Crossing development are commendable calls for King to enforce the laws of the State of Alabama, according to Republican candidate for attorney general, Luther Strange.

“I’ve been calling on the attorney general for months to enforce the laws of the State not only in Dothan but in every city in Alabama where electronic casino style gambling is taking place, something Mr. King has consistently failed to do.

“According to news reports, Troy King has a tangled web of relationships with gambling owners and investors that some suggest have impeded his ability to enforce the law. In fact, Mr. King’s attendance at lavish parties and fundraisers thrown by the very people who he would be investigating certainly raises that question. Unfortunately, I suspect that Troy King will continue his practice of trying to have it both ways on this issue by refusing to enforce our existing laws and then endorsing some sort of legislation to outlaw gambling. “

“The issue of enforcing the laws of the state is not as complicated as Mr. King would like us to think. The answer is for Mr. King to listen to the people of Houston County, the governor, district attorneys, law enforcement officials and others and do the job the people elected him to do. Enforce the law,” Strange said.