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Post by pavel on May 5, 2016 21:36:44 GMT -6
Gambling in Alabama: A high-stakes game of political intrigueIn September 2008, Milton McGregor, the bombastic owner of VictoryLand, the state's largest casino, was summoned to the governor's office for a lunch. Gov. Bob Riley's purpose for that meeting wasn't clear, but the request to meet wasn't particularly unusual. While McGregor and Riley weren't exactly close pals, the two were friendly enough at the time and various meetings had occurred between the two over the years. VictoryLand had been open for more than two decades at the time — the last five years of which McGregor's casino along Interstate 85 in Shorter had been operating electronic bingo machines. In an airplane hangar-sized room at VictoryLand, the Quincy's 777 game room had more than 6,000 blinking and dinging bingo machines, and more than 2,300 employees kept the place going. McGregor was doing very well. As he entered the governor's office that September afternoon, McGregor noticed that two small Chick-fil-A boxes had already been set out on the governor's long conference table. He asked if Riley was on a diet, but McGregor said he knew the small lunch was a sign that this meeting would be less about food and more about whatever it was Riley wanted to discuss. Read more: www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/longform/news/local/alabama/2014/11/08/gambling--alabama-has-history--political-intrigue-legal-fighting/16989033/
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