Alabama Bingo-Raid
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Posted: 8:05 PM Jan 16, 2010
Alabama Bingo-Raid
Ala. task force commander quits after gambling win.
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The commander of Governor Bob Riley's task force on illegal gambling has resigned because he recently won $2,300 at a Mississippi casino.

David Barber said he believes his actions would be a "political distraction" for the task force.

The commander resigned in a letter to the governor on Friday. In the letter, Barber said he visited a legal casino in Mississippi and won the money playing a legal game.

Riley and Barber have contended that electronic bingo machines being operated in Alabama are slot machines, which are illegal in Alabama.

The resignation came on the same day the Alabama Supreme Court lifted a judge's order that had blocked the task force from raiding electronic bingo operations at Country Crossing in Dothan.

Barber is the former district attorney in Jefferson County.