Alabama Attorney General, Republican Luther Strange, has been accused by his Democratic challenger, Joe Hubbard, of being more concerned about cracking down on the Poarch Creek Indians’ electronic bingo games than on violent crime. Hubbard said casino customers are not a threat, and Strange’s long-term legal battles over electronic bingo are a waste of state resources. Strange has taken his case against the Poarch Creek Indian bingo casinos to the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals, after losing earlier rounds.
In response, Strange said he questions Hubbard’s neutrality when his campaign largely has been financed by the Poarch Creeks, the state’s only federally recognized tribe, who have donated $1 million.
But the 3,000-member Poarch Creek tribe has a lot more to give, and to invest. The tribe’s gaming enterprise has come a long way since the Creek Bingo Palace opened in 1985, and its earnings have soared since it offered electronic bingo in 2008. In 2012, according to the tribe’s annual report, their gambling and hospitality operations generated $600 million in revenues, and PCI Gaming took in $322 million in net earnings, continuing five years of increases. The tribe operates three casinos in Atmore, Wetumpka and Montgomery.
Despite Alabama’s conservatism, its budgetary issues may be causing some state lawmakers to consider negotiating a compact with the tribe. Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh recently stated, “Hey everything is on the table, but I think we need to have a broader vision.” The Poarch Creeks have been seeking a compact with Alabama for years, with no success.
But, with plenty of funds available, the tribe continues to invest in the state. In Huntsville, it’s building a hotel at the military development Redstone Gateway, with rights to build a second one. Blue Collar Country, a vast entertainment venue, is planned for Foley. In Atmore, home of the Poarch Creek’s reservation, the tribe owns a manufacturing plant, a huge farming operation and two convenience stores.
In 2009 the Poarch Creeks also became involved in parimutuels, purchasing the Mobile Greyhound Park and Pensacola Greyhound Track and Poker Room. Robert McGhee, vice chairman and tribal relations adviser for the Poarch Creeks, said, “It was one of those things we just felt that if gaming was going to come to the state of Alabama , it was quite a number of years ago, let’s look at Mobile as the corridor to Biloxi and try and keep the funds in the state.” He said the two tracks are “holding their own.”
The tribe also has asked Florida Governor Rick Scott to negotiate a compact, with no response. The Poarch Creeks have stakes in several Florida hotels in Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach and near Orlando. Robert McGhee, vice chairman and tribal relations adviser for the Poarch Creeks, said gaming played no role in the Florida hotel deals. But, if a state gaming compact became a reality, the tribe would be ready to move quickly, McGhee said.
Tim Martin, head of the Poarch Creek Indian Enterprises Development Authority, the tribe’s economic development arm, said the tribe seeks new investments because it’s aware that someday casino gambling may stop generating the same level of revenues. “We work with the philosophy that gaming is going away, a little bit every day,” Martin said.
