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Alabama Gov.: Casino Computer Changes Show Illegality

By Phillip Rawls of the Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Gov. Bob Riley said Milton McGregor's decision to close Alabama's largest casino and update the computers Tuesday is proof the gambling machines were operating illegally.

The casino's attorney said the computer changes at VictoryLand are not related to its electronic bingo machines, but the closure did prevent the Governor's Task Force on Illegal Gambling from raiding the casino without first getting a search warrant.

Also Tuesday, the governor defended Mobile District Attorney John Tyson Jr., the commander of Riley's Task Force on Illegal Gambling, after the disclosure by the Mobile Press-Register that Tyson received $100,000 in campaign contributions from McGregor, the state's most prominent casino operator, in a race for state attorney general in 2006.

Riley said the donation has not stopped Tyson from enforcing Alabama's gambling laws.

"It proves Milton McGregor or no one else is going to buy John Tyson," Riley said.

Asked why he sought McGregor's donations, Tyson told The Associated Press, "Mr. McGregor is a major player in elections in Alabama."

Tyson said he won't be slowed in his goal of shutting down illegal gambling machines statewide.

"We're coming. We're not going to allow illegal gambling and illegal bingo machines to operate in a few counties in Alabama when 62 other counties can't do it," he said in an interview.

Developments in Alabama's battle over electronic bingo were playing out as fast as the machines operate:

-Several Democratic legislators called on the Republican governor to end his efforts to raid casinos. Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, said Riley was wasting "hundreds of thousands of dollars at the time that the Great Recession is eating away at state revenue, and teachers and state employees are looking at layoffs and furloughs."

-An electronic bingo hall planned for the Birmingham suburb of Midfield delayed its opening after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that bingo machines planned for nearby Ashville would be illegal.

-Country Crossing at Dothan, a tourist attraction with 1,700 electronic bingo machines that closed Friday, remained closed. No reopening date has been set.

-The Alabama Supreme Court received the final arguments in the case that could clear the way for a raid at VictoryLand.

-Legislators prepared to introduce a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Alabama citizens to vote on keeping the games operating by regulating and taxing them. A sponsor, Rep. Marcel Black, D-Tuscumbia, said the bill will be introduced when a Senate filibuster breaks.

Tyson, a Democrat who is district attorney for Mobile County, got picked by Riley to lead the task force last month because the previous commander resigned after winning $2,300 at an Indian casino in Mississippi.

On Jan. 27, questions came up about whether Tyson had received campaign contributions from gambling interests in his unsuccessful race for attorney general in 2006. "I did not and I would be happy for anybody to review the receipts we have for the campaign," Tyson told The Dothan Eagle last week.

But McGregor told the Mobile Press-Register that Tyson asked him for $150,000 in donations in the 2006 campaign, and that he gave Tyson $100,000.

Tyson acknowledged receiving the $100,000 and said he thought the questions from reporters last week only pertained to donations from Indian gambling interests in Alabama because Country Crossing had challenged whether he had received any.

Tyson conceded Tuesday that he also may have received donations from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which operates three Alabama casinos.

Tyson said he sought and received donations from veteran Montgomery lobbyist John Teague, and at the time, all he knew was that Teague lobbied for many clients. Those clients include the Poarch Creek Indians, who donated to Teague's PACs.

"From looking at the details of that report, it appears some of that may be Creek Indian money," Tyson said Tuesday.

Under Tyson's leadership, more than 200 state police tried to raid VictoryLand and Country Crossing early Friday morning without search warrants, but pulled back amid legal questions.

Country Crossing closed its doors before police arrived, which prevented the task force from entering without a search warrant.

VictoryLand got a judge's order blocking a raid and continued operating until Monday night, when customers were suddenly told to leave because the casino needed to update its equipment.

Tyson said VictoryLand was violating Friday's court order, which prohibited the casino from destroying any evidence.

"McGregor clearly thinks he is above the law," Tyson said Tuesday.

The games at VictoryLand and other casinos are connected to computers because customers are supposed to compete against each other in bingo.

VictoryLand attorney Mark White of Birmingham said no evidence was being changed.

"Mr. Tyson's comments are inaccurate. The computer upgrades at VictoryLand are not related to electronic bingo," he said.

White, a former president of the Alabama State Bar, said the closure does prevent the task force from "conducting another pre-dawn raid without obtaining a search warrant."

Tyson has argued that the task force could raid an open casino without a search warrant if an officer was inside witnessing illegal activity.

Phillip Rawls is an Associated Press staff writer.