Judge Hears Case on Victoryland
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Will Victoryland be allowed to reopen? That’s the question attorneys for the Macon County casino want a judge to decide on. Victoryland has been closed since it was raided by the state in 2013, effectively shutting down the operation.
A hearing was held today on the issue.
Circuit Court Judge William Shashy is presiding over this hearing and there was one question he wanted the state to answer. Why are other casinos allowed to operate and Victoryland is not? 1600 bingo machines and 260 thousand dollars were seized from Victoryland during a raid by the Attorney General’s Office. And now, they want it back.
Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom but Shashy did let our cameras in for the first three minutes of the hearing although we weren’t allowed to record audio.
In a packed Montgomery County courthouse, attorneys for Victoryland and the Attorney General’s office went back and forth over whether the casino should be allowed to reopen and electronic bingo machines returned. Victoryland Owner Milton McGregor said his casino is being unfairly targeted.
“Macon County is being treated differently than all the other counties.”
And Judge William Shashy agreed, telling attorney John Kachelman, who’s representing the state, that he can’t pick and choose which casinos are allowed to operate. Attorney Joe Espy, is representing Victoryland and said he thinks the hearing went in their favor.
“There’s almost 600 machines operating right now in Lowndes County. There’s over 8 thousand, 9 thousand machines operating in this state that the Attorney General has allowed other than the people of Macon County. It’s outrageous and like you heard in the courtroom, he should have been here to explain it to Judge Shashy.”
Kachelman argued that the state is indeed pursuing other casinos…but wouldn’t disclose what action, if any, would be taken. It wasn’t enough for Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford, who said the state doesn’t have a case.
“There is clear documentation that the other casinos were allowed to operate and Macon County was not.”
Political Analyst Steve Flowers said a final decision needs to be made regarding Victoryland.
“This thing just continues like a merry-go-roung. Well the judge clearly, anybody who’s fair would realize that Victoryland has been discriminated against.”
And because a decision may not come down for some time, McGregor says he’s preparing to reopen and risk being closed down again.
“I’ve got 3500 applications we’ve accepted since June the 25th.”
When asked by Judge Shashy what he would tell the people of Macon County about their constitutional amendment, John Kachelman who is representing the state, blamed local law enforcement for not doing their jobs as it pertains to gaming and also blamed the media for not reporting on the raids of other casinos.
Judge William Shashy was picked by the Alabama Supreme Court to hear this case.
He says he’s now waiting to see whether the Alabama legislature picks up the issue of gaming in the special session before he makes a decision.
Stay with Alabama News Network as we continue to follow this case.
