With Governor Bob Riley’s gambling task force waiting to pounce on Alabama’s largest electronic bingo hall, Victoryland closed voluntarily on Monday to prevent a raid on the facility.
The bingo parlor’s owner Milton McGregor said that Victoryland was forced to close temporarily because of the legal pressure Riley and gambling task force commander John Tyson have placed on his business.
McGregor feels that Riley’s dictator-like attitude toward electronic bingo halls in the state has put thousands of Alabamians out of work and that he should be “ashamed of himself.”
“We are deeply saddened our 600 remaining employees will be forced out of a job just days before the start of the school year,” said McGregor. “It is apparent from Riley’s latest legal shenanigans and threats that they will stop at nothing to put on a show.”
So far, the task force has been the cause of other casinos to close as well.
Greenetrack in Greene County was raided and protesters were arrested. Country Crossing at Dothan was also forced to shut down as investors were planning the site as the centerpiece of a country music-themed entertainment complex.
Victoryland was last on the Governor’s hit list.






