Joe McAdory: Casino needs Pac-Man, maybe air hockey too

I won at VictoryLand! That’s right, I walked out of the Quincy’s 777 casino a winner last Friday afternoon.

Four cents. I might just invest in a piece of gas station bubble gum to celebrate my newfound riches. Maybe they’ll put me on one of those snazzy billboards.

Anyway, after writing a number of stories on the bingo issue and covering VictoryLand’s reopening last week I had to go inside and see for myself what the fuss was all about. Here are my impressions:

* It’s bingo … I think. The machines blink and ding like regular slot machines, but whatever fruits lined up perfectly on the screen had absolutely nothing to do with the game itself. I’ve played slots before and this crazy machine clearly was not a one-armed bandit. But people put money into the machine, often losing, in hopes of striking it rich. Therefore, it is gambling. So, is that legal? I don’t know. I did see a lady win $600. Good for her.

* If people who have very little to begin with choose to throw away their grocery money into a flashing machine, I suppose that’s their prerogative. I don’t understand why they’d want to do that. It’s up to state government to decide whether it chooses to make laws to protect citizens from themselves or leave people alone. Individual common sense should rule here, but there isn’t enough of that to go around.

* I put a dollar in, I press a few buttons, the machine goes “ding, ding, ding,” and I get a receipt for 4 cents (OK, so technically I lost 96 cents in my experiment). Is this supposed to be fun? Maybe for folks who understand these games. I don’t. Milton McGregor needs to take out some of these bingo games and fill one wing of the casino with Pac-Man, Frogger, Space Invaders, Asteroids and maybe a few air hockey tables. Yeah, now we’re talking.

* The facility is very, very nice. It even has its own ice cream parlor. If I were going to lose a buck, I’d want to lose a buck right there. If I’m going to win a buck, well, actually I don’t care where I win a buck as long as it happened.

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ron Sparks will be the guest speaker at next Wednesday’s meeting of the Lee County Democratic Club. The meeting held at the Auburn University Club begins with a 6 p.m. buffet ($11). The program is expected to begin at around 6:50 p.m.

The public is invited.

According to a release issued from the Lee County Democratic Club, Sparks is expected to speak “about his vision for Alabama.” In recent days, Sparks has declared his commitment to regulating bingo and using proceeds for state revenue. Considering the recent bingo controversy, this might be a bullet point for discussion.

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Dr. Kim West, an Auburn veterinarian, announced the other day she has qualified as a candidate for Alabama Senate District 28. She is the only Republican in a large field of candidates.

“We have to plan for a smaller, more efficient state government that facilitates the growth of family business and local economy with a political environment that promotes capitalism,” she said in a statement. “This is what we demand from our government. I have sought this as a business owner, promoted this at tea parties, and now look forward to addressing these demands as a state senator.”

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The field to replace Sen. Myron Penn, D-Union Springs, for the Alabama Senate District 28 seat was recently narrowed by one. Macon County commissioner Drew Thompson, a Democrat who announced his desire last fall to seek office, told the Opelika-Auburn News last Friday at the VictoryLand reopening that he has reconsidered.

“When all of this (bingo) took place, I started re-examining things,” he said. “My first responsibility is to the county commission. I feel like this is where I need to be. Maybe in four years.”

Other Democratic candidates for the office include former Tuskegee mayor and legislator Johnny Ford, legislator Billy Beasley of Clayton, legislator Locy Baker of Abbeville, Shorter town clerk Harold Powell and Tuskegee educator Samuel L. Harris.

District 28 is a largely rural district that spans portions of Macon, Bullock, Barbour, Russell, Henry and Lee counties.

Joe McAdory is editorial page editor for the Opelika-Auburn News. He can be reached at 737-2549 or jmcadory@oanow.com