Greenetrack gives up liquor license
Published: February 5, 2010
Updated: February 5, 2010
EUTAW, Ala. (AP) - The operator of Greenetrack has voluntarily surrendered the facility’s licenses to sell alcohol and tobacco.
The Tuscaloosa News reports that operator Luther W. “Nat” Winn says no alcohol or tobacco products will be sold to patrons at the dog track and electronic bingo facility.
In a court brief filed Tuesday in Macon County, the governor’s gambling task force referred to an Alabama law that allows warrantless searches for anyone with an Alcoholic Beverage Control Board license.
The brief also says any business open to the public can’t bar a law enforcement official from entering to see whether a crime is taking place in plain view.
Task force lawyers filed the brief in support of its position that a search of VictoryLand, a bingo parlor in Shorter, should be allowed.
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“I have been made aware that some of our employees are patronizing Country Crossing and VictoryLand” began the memorandum, dated Monday, from Chief Jeff Rogers, director of ABC’s Enforcement Division.
The memo was addressed to “all enforcement personnel.“
“As all of you are aware, we are heavily involved in the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling. If you are patronizing these locations, you are a willing participant in what we consider illegal activity,“ the memo said.
He wrote that employees were being “ordered” not to visit those locations or any others with similar gambling machines.
VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor described the letter as “very offensive,“ but said Thursday he wasn’t surprised to hear that ABC officials were among his customers.
View full size"If you are patronizing (Country Crossing and VictoryLand), you are a willing participant in what we consider an illegal activity,“ Rogers wrote in the memo. Read the full document.“We’re a legitimate business, and the honest people who work for the ABC Board ... they know we’re a legitimate business,“ McGregor said. “There’s absolutely a lot of hypocrisy going on.“
Bob Martin, an ABC attorney, said the memo was meant only as a warning to employees; he would not comment on the hypocrisy claim.
He said he had no “direct knowledge” that employees had visited casinos, and he didn’t want to “hypothesize” on it.
The office of Gov. Bob Riley, which created the gambling task force, declined to comment on the memo.
Gambling becomes a cash cow for liberal Democrats and some Republicans. If passed the gambling interests will have more money and more power to control the Alabama Legislature and all statewide races and the people will be further away from having a voice. We need to see what history can teach us.
The majority of the states of the US (including Alabama) had legalized gambling of some sort such as the lottery in the late 1800s.
Much corruption came of if, that almost every state in the nation did away with legalized gambling before 1920. We saw additional corruption with gambling in Phoenix City, Alabama during 1954. When Attorney Albert Patterson attempted to clean up Phoenix City, he was murdered by the gambling interests.
This caused a backlash and a grand jury indited over 700 local law enforcement, local police, and almost all of the local government officials. A profound example of how gambling money corrupts local officials. Read the story at:
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1250
The question becomes, are we going to learn from the history of the past?
Because he doesn’t want anything to mess up his payments from the Mississippi casinos!! Why, in God’s name, are we spending so much money fighting something so irrevelant?!! If people want to spend their money on gambling, there’s nothing Riley can do about it. Those people will find a way.
Why is Bob Riley obsessed with gambling?
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