Walker County bingo halls must shut down, Jefferson County judge rules

A judge ruled today that bingo halls in Walker County that use electronic player stations are illegal and has ordered the halls to shut down immediately.

[Carla B]

Alot of people are out of work now. I believe that it is our peoples right to vote on this, and even though the judge ruled it illegal, does not mean that it actually is. There are alot of hoops to jump through to prove this, but since so m any people have lost their jobs before christmas, the crime rates will go up, and now that I have been embarrassed enough by the state of Alabama/s poor status, this makes it even worse. We are a laughing stock of all other states. Thanks Gov!

[Anthony C]

Its a bittersweet situation for me. I'm relieved that Bingo is out of here, because I've seen too many people blow their entire paycheck at these places. Yeah, its their own fault for doing that, but when I have no choice but to loan a family member money so she can go play bingo, it irritates me in a bad way. However, I've got a 35 year old brother that has had to move back home because of the economic crisis, and he was working for Gateway Gaming until Bingo was shut down. And the complaints about people losing their jobs, they should have known better to rely on Bingo being here permanently. Its been "iffy" since it came to Walker county, but since everybody's after that quick buck, they thought this would be a Godsend.