Electronic Bingo Hall Moves Ahead Despite Death of Bingo Bill

Enterprise developer Ronnie Gilley said last week the bingo bill may be dead for now, but the Country Crossing mega-entertainment park isn’t.

“We’re marching on,” said Gilley last week after Alabama legislators allowed the Sweet Home Alabama bill to die in the Senate Rules Committee.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Quinton Ross of Montgomery and Rep. Marcel Black of Tuscumbia, would have regulated and taxed electronic bingo in Alabama and allowed a statewide referendum. Its death, however, does not stop Gilley’s plans for an electronic bingo hall at Country Crossing, where the primary focus will be on high-quality entertainment, celebrity-themed restaurants and luxury hotels.

“We’re moving full steam ahead,” Gilley said. “Construction activity will pick up dramatically in the next two to three weeks.”

For the complete story, please see Kay Kirkland, Bingo bill dies, development moves ahead, The Southeast Sun, May 13, 2009.