BESSEMER, Ala. (AP) - A prosecutor is allowing 13 electronic
bingo halls in Jefferson County's Bessemer Cutoff to remain open
for at least the next few months.
Arthur Green, the district attorney for the Cutoff, decided to
drop a Thursday deadline to shut the halls down after an emergency
hearing before Circuit Judge Eugene Verin. Lawyers for charity
bingo operators and Fairfield sought an injunction against Green
enforcing the deadline. A new deadline was not set.
A final hearing is expected in January on whether electronic
bingo machines and operations are legal in the Cutoff. Bingo halls
in the Birmingham Division were closed by Monday. District Attorney
Brandon Falls on Oct. 21 declared the halls to be for-profit
businesses and ordered them to remove their machines.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
