Senate Rejects Greenetrack Casino Bill

State senators have rejected a bill aimed at keeping Greenetrack’s bingo casino operational.

Senators on Wednesday were four votes short of the 21 votes needed to approve the proposed constitutional amendment.

Sen. Bobby Singleton sought to write into the state constitution that Greenetrack can have the same type of electronic gambling machines operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians at three Alabama casinos.

Singleton says Greenetrack provides needed jobs in the poverty-stricken Greene County, comparing it to automobile plants in other areas of the state.

The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled the electronic bingo machines, which physically resemble slot machines, are illegal. However, the tribe is under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Federal courts have ruled against a previous state effort to close the tribe’s gambling operations.

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