Alabama Governor Bob Riley has chosen Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson to replace David Barber as head of his anti-gambling task force. Barber stepped down as director of the task force after disclosing he had won $2,300 at a Choctaw Indian casino in Mississippi.

The appointment does not come without controversy. The Associated Press reported that Milton McGregor, owner of the Victoryland casino, might have been obstructing justice when he hired a detective to trail Barber.

McGregor, angry about the threat of raids on Victoryland and other electronic bingo parlors, said citizens have a right to monitor activities going on around them.

Tyson himself said he gambled about $15 or $20 at a Mississippi casino when gambling first became legal in that state. He said that is all he has every gambled anywhere.

Like the governor, Tyson believes electronic bingo games in Alabama are illegal slot machines and should be shut down.

By Staff