Greenetrack quiet after removal of more than 900 electronic bingo machines
The last state trooper cars and the last trucks carrying the last of more than 900 electronic bingo machines left Greenetrack Friday, ending a raid on the west Alabama casino that started Tuesday.
In addition to seizing the machines, police hauled away about $75,000 in cash recovered from the electronic bingo machines, said John Tyson, commander of the state’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.
Only a few onlookers were on hand when troopers left the once-thriving casino that had been expecting big crowds over the long holiday weekend.
No arrests were reported today.
While Greenetrack is now free to offer paper bingo and off-track wagering on events such as horse and dog races, it was electronic bingo that drew big crowds to the casino and made it millions of dollars.
The reported quiet today around the casino stood in contrast to what was at times an emotional week. The raid by the task force was met with anger and frustration by workers and their families and by county and state lawmakers.
On Thursday, 16 people were arrested at Greenetrack on charges of interfering with the work of the task force. Some who went to jail included several county commissioners, Greenetrack’s CEO and state Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro.
About a dozen members of the Legislative Black Caucus also protested at the casino, charging Gov. Bob Riley and Tyson with breaking the law and hurling insults at Riley, calling him at times a terrorist, a Nazi and a racist.
Democratic candidate for governor Ron Sparks also came to the casino promising workers and their families that, if he is elected governor, he will fire Tyson and disband the task force and push for a statewide vote on casino-like gambling.
Greenetrack is the third of four major non-Indian electronic bingo casinos to have had its doors shut either by a task force raid or under threat of a raid in the past 15 months. Dozens of other mostly smaller bingo halls also have closed as a result of pressure applied by Tyson.
Only VictoryLand in Macon County, by far the state’s largest non-Indian casino. remains open. Tyson said only an injunction imposed by a circuit judge is preventing him from raiding VictoryLand. Tyson has appealed that injunction, and that appeal has been pending before the state Supreme Court for some months.
Tyson said Friday he has no doubt how the high court will rule on the VictoryLand injunction.
“I think the writing is on the wall for VictoryLand,” Tyson said. “The Alabama Supreme Court has now said over and over in a number of opinions that circuit judges have no authority to interfere in the task force enforcing the law. That is what they just said twice in the Greenetrack case, and they removed the judge in that case, and it is what they have said in a number of other cases. I think the Alabama Supreme Court will clear the way soon when it comes to VictoryLand.”
And when it does, Tyson said, “I think the citizens of Alabama and the owners of VictoryLand can rest assured that we will enforce the law.”