Are Mississippi Casino Interests Influencing Alabama Government?
A group of people associated with Mississippi casino interests met in mid January to discuss ways to combat increased gaming activity in Alabama. Is it coincidence that Alabama Governor Bob Riley, who reportedly received campaign support from Mississippi casino groups, ordered attempted raids on two Alabama facilities roughly two weeks after the meeting? According to news reports in Alabama, a lobbyist named Gloria Williamson organized the meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi. Williamson just happens to lobby on behalf of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the group that reportedly spent $13 million to help get Riley elected in 2002: The group met at Mary Mahoney’s restaurant in Biloxi and was organized by a lobbyist for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, which runs a casino/resort in Neshoba County, Miss. The Dothan Eagle cited an e-mail from the lobbyist, former Mississippi State Sen. Gloria Williamson, inquiring about possible joint advertising by the Mississippi casinos. The
