Milton McGregor, the owner of VictoryLand and Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford jointly announced the reopening of VictoryLand Casino scheduled for 13th of September. The property will feature 500 electronic bingo machines and it will employ a total of 200 people.

The gaming facility was closed back in 2013 after 1,615 electronic bingo machines were seized in a raid by the attorney general’s office. Two years later, in November 2015, Governor Robert Bentley signed an executive order that removed the attorney general’s authority to enforce gambling related laws; the authority was given to the county sheriffs instead.

Afterwards, a circuit court judge ordered the machines to be returned, stating that the state was “cherry-picking” which properties were given the right to operate. Nonetheless, in March, 2016, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the seized machines were illegal and thus overruled the initial decision.

Regardless, McGregor announced during a press conference in April that he plans to restart operations this summer. In the Sunday press release, he confirmed the reopening of VictoryLand, pointing out that he was working with the Mayor Ford for months in order to accomplish his goal. The owner of the property admitted that the whole process took longer than hoped, but he expressed satisfaction that VictoryLand would bring hundreds of jobs and generate profit for Tuskegee and the entire region.

Mayor Ford, who was first elected in 1972, said that everyone was anxious for the VictoryLand Casino to open as soon as possible. He didn’t miss the opportunity to mention the millions of dollars in charities and taxes that would benefit the schools, cities and county.

VictoryLand was first opened back in 2013 and featured only 300 gaming machines. It was growing at a good pace and by 2010 it included over 6,400 machines, a hotel with 350 rooms and six restaurants.