Alabama Governor Riley Goes On Defensive Regarding Football Bet

Governor Robert Riley now wants residents of Alabama to believe that he was just kidding when he made a bet with Florida Governor Charlie Crist involving the Florida-Alabama SEC Championship game. Even though he paid the bet off last year when he lost, Riley claims that he did not want to collect his winnings after this year's bet.

Riley has come under criticism for his bet with the Florida governor over a football game. Riley has created a war with bingo gambling operators in his state, and then turned around and made the bet with Crist.

After residents began to question Riley's bet, his office quickly backtracked and said he would not collect on the bet. Crist, not understanding the ramifications for Riley, refused to play along, claiming the oranges that were wagered were already on their way.

Alabama residents have been disgusted with Riley's efforts to take away their bingo halls. Riley has set up a task force to seek out these "illegal" gambling establishments, and confiscate the video machines the bingo was being played on.

After Riley's bet, many residents voiced their displeasure, drawing comparisons between bingo gambling and football gambling. One of the disgruntled residents even pointed out that bingo is legal in some states, while sports gambling is illegal in all states except for Nevada and Delaware.

The football bet called for the loser of the game to send the winner something famous from their state. Riley would have had to sent ribs to Crist, and Crist had to send oranges to Riley. Although Riley's office claims the bet was in good fun, Riley did pay up with the ribs last year when Alabama lost the game.

That left some to wonder who paid for the ribs, and consequently, who paid for the shipping of the ribs to Florida. Sports gambling is illegal in the state of Alabama.

December 11, 2009
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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