MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A lawyer for the closed VictoryLand casino in Shorter argued in court Tuesday that the gambling machines seized from its floors are identical to those operating in other gambling halls in Alabama.
“The same machines — electronic bingo machines — are operating,” lawyer Joe Espy said.
Circuit Judge William Shashy started a non-jury trial Tuesday over whether the 1,615 machines seized by the attorney general’s office in a Feb. 19, 2013, raid are illegal and whether the state can destroy them and keep more than $223,000 in cash seized in the raid. Attorneys expect testimony to last several days.
Espy said Center Stage in Houston County and Greenetrack and Greene Charity Bingo in Greene County operate the same type of machines that VictoryLand had prior to the raid.
Assistant Attorney General Sonny Reagan said the state has raided all three operations and they reopened with new machines.
The judge said it raises equal protection issues for VictoryLand.
“We are enforcing the law as consistently as we can,” Reagan replied.
VictoryLand, 15 miles east of Montgomery, did not reopen after the 2013 raid but could if the judge rules in its favor.
VictoryLand was once Alabama’s largest casino and the largest taxpayer in rural Macon County. The VictoryLand complex featured the sprawling casino, an upscale hotel, and live dog racing. Those are now closed, and all that remains is betting on horse and dog races simulcast from other tracks.
Several Alabama counties have approved constitutional amendments to allow bingo. Voters in Macon County approved one by a 3-to-1 margin in 2003. VictoryLand’s lawyers say the amendment provided for all types of bingo, including that played on machines. The attorney general’s office says machines don’t meet the Alabama Supreme Court’s description of bingo, which includes numbers being announced, players marking their cards, and a player claiming a win.
An investigator for the attorney general’s office, Gene Sisson, testified Tuesday that he made an undercover trip to VictoryLand and he never heard any numbers announced and or players yell “Bingo.” Instead, he said a player got an ATM-style card and personal identification number from a stand, put the card and PIN into a machine, pushed a button and watched the game play automatically.
“There wasn’t any skill involved,” he said.
He described playing a machine called “Hotter Than,” with slot machine-style reels covering much of its video screen and a small bingo card in the upper right corner. He said the machine made noises like a slot machine, and a player didn’t have to do anything to claim a win.
“As long as you can find the play button with your hand, you don’t have to pay attention after that,” he testified.
Under questioning by VictoryLand’s attorney, Sisson said investigators did not do a forensic analysis of the machines before removing them from the casino and their determination that they were illegal was based on visual inspection. He said that was the same process used in gambling hall raids he conducted in Lowndes and Houston counties, where judges ruled the machines could be destroyed.
Sisson also acknowledged the VictoryLand machines are similar to games at three Poarch Creek Indian casinos in Alabama. Those casinos operate under federal law and have not been raided by the attorney general.
The trial continues Wednesday. Other witnesses scheduled to testify include VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor and Macon County Sheriff David Warren, who approved the machines used at VictoryLand.
