Charismatic and controversial, Milton McGregor, owner of VictoryLand casino, greyhound track and hotel in Shorter, Alabama, died March 25 at the age of 78 at his Montgomery home. Known for inviting players, “Come join us. You can be a winner too,” McGregor fought a protracted legal battle to keep his casino open. He also had business interests in banking and nursing homes.
The son of a widow who ran a small-town grocery store, McGregor owned an arcade and a business that leased Pac-Man and other video games in the 1980s. He opened VictoryLand greyhound track and casino in Macon County in 1984, and purchased a closed horse racetrack in Birmingham to offer dog racing.
Bingo is legal in certain locations, including Macon County, so McGregor invested millions of dollars in expanding VictoryLand and filling it with electronic bingo machines, at one point offering 6,400. He added a 300-room hotel and restaurants to compete with nearby Mississippi casinos.
