After the Chickasaw City Council meeting Feb. 9, it does not seem the recent Jan. 29 Supreme Court ruling against slot machines in Ashville has fazed the city leaders. Neither have the recent raids by the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling or the closing of casinos like VictoryLand in Macon County.
The council and mayor passed an amended “bingo” ordinance, which would allow a new version of electronic bingo. They also approved a lease with electronic gambling developer M.S. Land Inc. after a vote of 4–2.
M.S. Land, which is owned by Gulf Shores attorney James “Pete” Bridges, is reportedly planning to operate 500 gambling machines soon. M.S. Land was begun specifically for “bingo” halls in Mobile County, Mobile’s Press-Register reported.
While City Councilman Adam Bourne and city attorney Jay Minus have yet to actually see one of the new machines, they both confirmed that Bridges’ machines comply with the Supreme Court’s six-point test (released as part of a November 2009 ruling).
Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson, who is also head of the task force, is not convinced the machines are legal. “We’ll have to see what Chickasaw has in mind, but all these years, I have never seen an electronic machine that was really nothing other than a slot machine disguised by a decal and clever name,” he said.
M.S. Land’s Chickasaw Bingo Pavilion reportedly has 15 charities that will oversee the operation, according to Bourne. However, no one has been able to provide a list of these charities to The Alabama Baptist.
City Councilman Mickey Day, who voted against the new ordinance and lease agreement, said the amount of rent collected from M.S. Land will depend on the number of machines being played per hour.
“There are a lot of people in Chickasaw who don’t want gambling,” said Day, noting about half of the approximately 100 people who came to the Feb. 9 council meeting opposed electronic gambling. “So I represented both them and me by voting no.
“I just don’t feel comfortable with what it may do to the environment of the city,” he said.
Mayor Byron Pittman and Bridges have been contacted numerous times. At press time, neither had returned calls. (TAB)
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