Alabama state Rep. Craig Ford recently announced in the upcoming legislative session he will introduce measures to authorize a lottery and establish a gambling compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, to help the state fill its budget gap. Ford has unsuccessfully pushed for a lottery for several years.
“It is past time we had a lottery in Alabama. Instead of watching our citizens play the lottery in neighboring states, watching potential money go right down the interstate with them, let’s keep them and that money here in Alabama. At the very least, we need to give the voters a chance to vote on a lottery and encourage the governor to open a dialogue with the Poarch Creek Indians to see what our possibilities are,” Ford said.
Lottery proceeds would go toward education and scholarships, leaving casino tax revenue, through a compact with the Poarch Creek Indians, to shore up the state’s General Fund.
Ford said a statewide lottery would general up to $250 million a year . He said in 2012 the Poarch Creeks brought in net earnings of $322 million. “In states that have agreements with tribes operating gaming interests, the states typically received between 5 percent, 7 percent or 10 percent of all revenue. For Alabama that means a possible $32.2 million in new revenue,” Ford said.
The Poarch Creeks plan to use some of their earnings to complete a $65 million expansion project at the Creek Casino Montgomery next year. The expansion will include a 119-room hotel with eight suites, salon, events center, BB King’s Blues Club, Lucille’s Restaurant and Itta Bena Restaurant. Construction started last month and will be finished in early 2016.
The Poarch Creeks operate a 46,000 square foot casino at the site. The Montgomery expansion would complete several projects at Wind Creek Casinos in Wetumpka and Atmore.
