MONTGOMERY — One of the long-rumored sites eyed by Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians for a resort-type casino gaming facility has been northeastern Alabama — near Bridgeport along U.S. Highway 72 near the Alabama-Tennessee state line.
The site, however, is not recognized as tribal land and would require action by Alabama’s state government to become a reality.
During an interview from the Alabama State House that aired on Huntsville radio’s WVNN, State Sen. Steve Livingston (R-Scottsboro) discussed gaming in Alabama, and the possibility it could come to his state senate district.
Livingston mentioned proposed legislation introduced by State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) they may address some of the issues regarding gambling in Alabama, including gaming and an education lottery. However, he also cautioned against giving anyone a monopoly.
“The bill that they’re operating off of came out of the second special session of 2015,” he said. “Like I said, I haven’t seen Senator Albritton’s bill. It dropped last week. But they named two additional sites that are non-Indian sites. They would like to have both of them.”
“Your mother told you to be careful what you ask for, or ask for the whole thing — maybe you get a piece of it,” Livingston added. “I don’t know if the legislature would give the [Creek] Indians full monopoly on all sites. I think that would look bad upon us to do that.”
On the possibility of casino gaming coming to his state senate district, which includes Jackson County, most of Dekalb County and a portion of Madison County, Livingston acknowledged he could be open to it given the proper circumstances.
“I think I would,” he said. “I would have to know what we’re talking about a little bit more, but I think we would. They’ve named three counties in north Alabama. As far as a site that’s been suggested — they have not said anything about a site. I am sure they have a computer program that tells them that if you put it over here on point A, it gets 10 million people, and if you put it on point B, you’re going to get 15 million people. Well, I’m going to 15 [million]. Aren’t you?”
Livingston said the hope for a new gaming facility would likely be to draw from Chattanooga, Nashville, Knoxville and Atlanta.
However, he also noted that there were pros and cons to bringing gaming to the community.
“Gaming comes with some sort of elements,” he said. “You’ve got a little social stigma that comes with it — alcohol, folks that have a hard time on their luck, folks that are doing things they should be doing with their money they shouldn’t be doing. By the same price, you’re probably talking about 2,500-3,000 jobs, entertainment jobs. That’s a big deal, especially in today’s labor market. That’s huge.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.
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