Bessemer, Ala. - Bessemer Mayor Ed May is putting up a virtual "keep out" sign when it comes to any new bingo halls that want to locate in his city.

"We want to get the word out so that somebody who is entertaining the thought of coming to Bessemer, they may look somewhere else," May said during a news conference Thursday.

The mayor said the only bingo halls allowed to remain open, for now, are those that were already in existence by November 5.

Earlier this month, Bessemer District Attorney Arthur Green allowed existing bingo halls to stay open as the facilities await a judge's decision in January regarding the legality of their electronic bingo machines.

Any new hall that has started operations after November 5, however, will be shut down, May said.

Police Chief Nathaniel Rutledge said officers would be on the lookout for any bingo halls that are operating without proper licensing.  He said the department had received word of some "underground" bingo operations.

"We have our special response unit, our special operations unit if you will, going out right now," Rutledge said.  "They're canvassing the city to see who's trying to operate."

While Bessemer's mayor has long opposed the existence of bingo halls, those who operate the halls point to jobs and revenue the halls have created.

Robert White, who serves as general manager for the Anchor Club on 8th Avenue in Bessemer, said he agreed that Bessemer should not have bingo halls lining every street in every part of town.  However, he did say bingo halls should be allowed in specific areas.

"There's a place for them, and they need to be put in an enteratinment district," White said.  "I have tried to relocate to another location numerous times since I've been open to get away from churches and so forth."

White said his bingo hall has around-the-clock security and that crime had not been an issue around his facility.

Alabama Governor Bob Riley has been increasingly vocal on the issue on a statewide level in recent days.  Riley opposes electronic bingo in any form, and Wednesday, he went on the record saying if authorities are going to shut down small-scale bingo halls, they should also force big-name facilities like Victoryland and Greenetrack to close as well.

"Someone said this would be like Roe versus Wade, saying it only applies to Roe and Wade," Riley said.  "This has to apply to everyone in the state of Alabama equally."

When asked if he would support a statewide vote of citizens on whether electronic bingo should be legal, Riley asserted the Alabama Supreme Court had already declared electronic bingo in its current form to be illegal.

Back in Bessemer, while Ed May and Robert White have differing views on the legality of bingo, both men agreed on one issue.  They each said voters should have the final say on the matter.

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