Editorial: Poarch Band slides down slippery slope

Monday, January 12, 2009  

"The Poarch Creeks' new casino, which opened Tuesday in Atmore, offers patrons more than 1,600 gambling machines with names like "Wheel of Fortune," "Double Diamond" and "Triple Lucky 7's."

If they sound familiar, it's probably because you played slot machines with the same names on your last trip to Biloxi or Las Vegas.

Of course, the Poarch Creeks don't call their devices "slot machines." Neither do the dog tracks in Macon and Greene counties, nor the new bingo halls in places like Walker County. They're "electronic bingo" games that happen to look just like slot machines.

Collectively, these gambling enterprises are a monument to the persistence of gambling interests -- and the state of Alabama's feeble response.

They vindicate those critics who warned the state from the beginning not to breach the dam holding back gambling -- and serve as a warning to those who even now want to lower the levees a little more.

There really is a slippery slope, and Alabama has been skidding sideways down it for years. The new Wind Creek casino is but the latest example. "

Get the Story:
Editorial: Alabama tribe opens new electronic gaming casino (The Birmingham News 1/11)

Another Story:
Casino opens to praise from patrons (The Brewton Standard 1/12)