Alabama governor defends executive order; VictoryLand hopes to open by Christmas
Last week Governor Robert Bentley signed an executive order saying that gambling enforcement should be handled by district attorneys and local sheriffs and on Tuesday he said he believed it would clarify “the right approach” to the issue.
Attorney General Luther Strange released a memo in January stating that local officials would handle gambling prosecutions in the future (which itself followed a less forceful suggestion to the AG from Gov. Bentley). Bentley rescinded his 2011 executive order that gave the attorney general power over gambling enforcement. The moves would seem to indicate that both parties are backing away from the state’s long-standing battle with bingo operators over slot machine look-alikes. If so, it just might be what casinos such as VictoryLand in M…