Casinos & Gambling in Alabama
There aren’t many casinos to be found throughout Alabama, there are mainly bingo halls with electronic machines. Yet, you can find horse racing and dog tracks in the area, if pari-mutuel gambling is your preference. The lack of casinos in Alabama has now become a political debate with one candidate asking people to vote for him so he can help raise money within Alabama by establishing casinos. If he is elected he would allow the casinos to expand to full-fledged casinos on the condition that they pay 12% of their gross revenue to the state of Alabama. Further, this money would be added to the General Fund and used to help to improve the state prisons and mend the shortage of state troopers. Also, he wants to open another 15 casinos across the state.
Interestingly, another candidate agrees with this sentiment, stating that organizing a state lottery would not raise as much in funds as casinos would. She went on to argue that by building more casinos it would bring in tourists and, in turn, would help improve the standing statistics pertaining to Alabama’s current unemployment figures.
Due to the fact that the casinos, at present, are small and offer no taxes to the state; casinos and the revenue they produces would be a welcomed improvement, not only for players but residents as it would create jobs and help with the state’s economy. At present, players are opting to cross the state line into Mississippi instead of visiting the smaller casinos in Alabama. Yet, there are residents of Alabama who are opposed to the idea of turning the state into a tourist’s attraction by allowing casinos to be established. They claim that the restaurants in the area would actually suffer if casinos brought in their own food outlets and this in turn would have a damaging effect on the industry.
In light of all the controversy, if you would still like to visit Alabama’s casinos and greyhound tracks, then you will receive a warm welcome. There are many amenities across Alabama including hotels, restaurants and rental cars. Further, the casinos which are now running throughout Alabama have electronic gaming machines, bingo, pull tabs and slot machines in abundance. The majority of these casinos are run by Native American Tribes across the state and they even run a shuttle service between the casinos for the players.
Most of these casinos have a smoke room where you can buy souvenirs of your time there and tobacco products at discount prices. They also have a restaurant to make your visit more enjoyable.
With such a strong Native American Indian link throughout Alabama, if you grow tired of visiting the casinos, you can see one of the many Native American Tribes and attend their gatherings and dances. There are also numerous centres showing the Indian artefacts from bygone years such as spears and arrowheads. Or, if you prefer, you could visit the local history museum or perhaps the military park. In Alabama, there is even a monument which is considered an archaeological treasure as it has evidence of how prehistoric people lived in the Southeast for over 10,000 years. Nevertheless, no matter what your preferences are, there is plenty to see and do in Alabama.
