It wasn’t even an election year, but officials in Morgan County in late October closed down operations at River City Entertainment in Lacey Springs until a judge could decide whether gaming machines there constituted an illegal electronic gambling operation.
Morgan County Circuit Court Judge Steven Haddock shuttered the business until the hearing, but no hearing was immediately set. The closing, as River City Entertainment attorneys noted, put hundreds of casino workers temporarily out of a paycheck, while nearby gaming establishments run by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians remained open, being subject to federal rather than state law.
Attorney General Steve Marshall hailed the move for ridding the state of illegal gambling. “We are confident that our prosecution of this case will shed the light on the illegal activities at River City Entertainment and prove the claims we made in our complaint, ” he said in a statement.
Text by Dave Helms
