VictoryLand, a Macon County, Alabama-located gambling venue, will be reopened on September 6, Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford announced in a Saturday statement. Prior to being closed in 2013, the property featured a greyhound track and casino-style gambling options.
According to the Saturday statement, the Macon County Racing Commission Chairman has been notified by VictoryLand’s owner – Milton McGregor, that the gambling venue will reopen its doors for gambling customers early in September after a three-year hiatus.
The casino has not been operational since 2013 as it fell victim to a statewide crackdown on the illegal provision of electronic bingo games. The illegal gambling investigation was initiated by former Alabama Governor Bob Riley and carried out by former Attorney General Troy King and his successor Attorney General Luther Strange.
VictoryLand was one of the gambling venues across the state to be raided for allegedly featuring illegal electronic bingo devices. Former Attorney General King even visited the Macon County casino to inspect the machines featured at its premises and issued a press release, saying that most of the machines in question were compliant with an amendment to the Alabama Constitution that allowed the provision of bingo games within the state’s borders.
Last summer, the Montgomery Circuit Court ruled that VictoryLand should not stay closed while other casinos around the state provided the same operations. However, the Supreme Court of Alabama was a difficult obstacle for owners of the gambling venue to overcome. The Court has issued several rulings that denied the provision of electronic bingo games. What is more, an agreement signed between Attorney General and a number of bingo machine manufacturers further hampered VictoryLand’s reopening.
It is still unclear whether the gambling venue will be relaunched with electronic bingo machines or video lottery terminals, with the latter slated to be considered for legalization in a special legislative session.
According to local media, the upcoming reopening will be welcomed by Macon County residents, as the casino will instantly become one of the biggest tax payers and employers in a region with an extremely high unemployment rate. Prior to closing doors, the gambling venue employed around 2,500 people. It is expected that approximately the same number of employees will be hired to work at VictoryLand upon opening.
Tuskegee Mayor Ford said in the Saturday statement that Macon County and its residents should stand with Mr. McGregor and the local racing commission so as to make sure that when relaunched on September 6, the gambling venue will remain open.
