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Noting the severe negative impact that shutting down electronic bingo games will have on local charities, attorneys for VictoryLand casino in Shorter filed a petition for rehearing, asking that the Alabama Supreme Court hold a rehearing of the public nuisance case it ruled on late last month.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the electronic bingo games played at VictoryLand and two facilities in Lowndes County constituted a “public nuisance.” The order from the court included instructions to a lower court to issue an order within 30 days that would end electronic bingo.
In response, the defendants filed for a rehearing, where they hope to show that the opinion from the court was erroneous and to introduce evidence showing that harm could be done to the charities that rely on VictoryLand for donations.
The chances of success for such a motion by VictoryLand are slim even on a good day, but in this case, several other factors are at play. Most notably: Macon County, where VictoryLand resides, is one of the poorest counties in the state, and the shuttering of electronic bingo games would send hundreds of employees scrambling to find new jobs in a tightening economy. There’s also the spectacle of those employees being laid off around the holidays.
The motion filed by VictoryLand attorneys, and first reported by WSFA, notes the poverty within the county and also that the closing of electronic bingo would cause serious and detrimental and/or fatal effect.”
Should the court decide to reject VictoryLand’s request for a rehearing, the dog track has asked that the court to at least delay the hearing until Jan. 1.
That delay would allow the workers time to find new employment and for charities to adjust.
