VictoryLand Casino sets Sept. 6 reopening date

VictoryLand Casino will re-open next month.

The Macon County casino, which has been closed three years following a raid by the state Attorney General Luther Strange‘s office, will reopen its doors Sept. 6, according to a press release issued by Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford.

Ford made the announcement Saturday saying the chairman of the Macon County Racing Commission Luther Curry was told the news by casino owner Milton McGregor.

“I’m calling on all the people in Macon County to stand with [VictoryLand owner] Milton McGregor and make sure that when VictoryLand is opened on Sept. 6 that it stays open,” Ford said in the release. “[McGregor] promised that VictoryLand would reopen before the end of the summer, and Sept. 6 is good enough for us in Tuskegee/Macon County who have waited so long for our homegrown industry, which was illegally closed by Luther Strange, to be reopened.”

VictoryLand was raided as part of a statewide crackdown on “illegal gambling” in 2013, devastating the Macon County economy, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state.

McGregor said recently he’ll reopen with roughly 1,000 employees, down from the 2,000-plus the casino once employed.