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McCutcheon says public opinion is driving gambling debate

Thursday, Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, told reporters that public opinion is driving the debate on gambling. Speaker McCutcheon praised Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s (R) working group on gambling and said that a lot of good people had been appointed to that group. At Gov. Ivey’s State of the State address, she told … Continued
February 24, 2020

Marsh holds meeting with gaming interests day after Ivey calls for the Legislature to stand down on gaming

Despite Gov. Kay Ivey’s call for the Legislature to give her “time to get the facts,” on a lottery and gaming before proceeding with legislation, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh summoned representatives of the Poarch Creek Band of Indians and two of the state’s dog tracks to sit down and discuss moving ahead on … Continued
February 10, 2020

Alabama Republicans praise Ivey’s State of the State speech

Tuesday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) laid out an ambitious agenda in her annual State of the State Address that includes: building three new prisons, a three percent teacher pay raise, a two percent state employee pay raise, mental health crisis centers, broadband expansion, hiring more state troopers, workforce development, a governor’s study group on … Continued
February 5, 2020

Former state senator challenges Poarch Creek legal status

Former state Sen. Gerald Dial raised questions at a Tuesday press conference over the legal status of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, distributing letters from high ranking officials in the Department of the Interior who question the tribe’s history and its legal rights to operate casinos.  In one letter, written by then-Interior Department solicitor … Continued
February 5, 2020

PCI’s billion dollar plan raises questions

Over the last few months, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians has flooded the state with an advertising campaign touting a billion-dollar package labeled “Winning for Alabama.” How the plan benefits Alabama is a fuzzy moving target, but there are many advantages for the tribe. Beyond giving PCI a monopoly over Las Vegas-style gaming, it … Continued
January 28, 2020

Prepare for more gambling debates in the 2020 Legislative Session

More gambling arguments are on their way.  Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, the House budget chairman, told several media outlets on Monday that he planned to file legislation that would create an education lottery in Alabama.  Clouse’s bill would create a paper lottery with scratch-offs and PowerBall options, but would exclude video lottery terminals. Clouse said … Continued
January 28, 2020

PCI supported President Trump’s rivals but want state Republican to do their bidding

In 2016, Alabamians overwhelmingly supported Donald J. Trump for president. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, however, put the majority of their money behind his rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. PCI gave Clinton $150,000 in 2016, but only $25,000 to Trump. Likewise, in 2012, PCI contributed $135,000 to Barack Obama. In both elections, the Poarch Creeks … Continued
January 21, 2020

Poarch Creek’s offer is a pipe dream opening the door to a nightmare

Over the last ten years, the political influence of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians has grown so powerful that they can kill any legislation that poses a threat to their business interests. Each year PCI and its Republican allies have doomed legislation that would have created a state lottery or allow others to offer … Continued
January 13, 2020

PCI is offering a billion dollars, how much is that?

Poarch Band of Creek Indians is offering the state a billion dollars for a state-guaranteed monopoly on its gambling operations and allowing it to expand its casinos to include Birmingham and a yet unnamed location in North Alabama. How much is a billion dollars? PCI gaming, using revenues from its gaming operations in Alabama, last … Continued
January 13, 2020