Decatur, Ala. | Saturday, May 18, 2013
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Lowndes County casino raided, machines seized

WHITE HALL (AP) — The attorney general's office and state troopers raided an electronic bingo casino in Lowndes County on Friday and seized more than 350 machines and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Attorney General Luther Strange said a search warrant was served Friday morning at Southern Star Entertainment Center in White Hall after an investigation of several months.

Alabama's constitution allows bingo in White Hall for charitable purposes. Southern Star originally operated traditional paper bingo games, but installed machines in March that it described as legal. Strange said the investigation determined they weren't.

No one answered the phone at the business Friday afternoon, and its website said it was temporarily closed. The business is located about 20 miles west of Montgomery on U.S. 80, a major route to Mississippi.

A nearby casino, White Hall Entertainment Center, was raided and closed in March 2009, during former Gov. Bob Riley's crackdown on gambling halls. Nearly $550,000 in cash seized during that raid eventually became property of the state government.

The attorney general conducted a similar raid at Center Stage casino in Dothan in July, seizing 400 electronic bingo machines and $283,000 in cash. After the raid, Center Stage continued operating with paper bingo games.

"From my first day in office, I have worked to ensure that illegal gambling laws are enforced consistently across the state," Strange said.

The casinos in White Hall and Dothan were privately operated and were under state supervision. The Poarch Creek Indians continue to operate electronic bingo casinos in Atmore, Wetumpka and Montgomery that are under federal supervision.

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