With all the talk around Houston County about getting an electronic bingo facility as part of the proposed Country Crossing development, citizens wonder what it will mean for the area.

Some say it will bring crime, tear up families, and not supply charities with an adequate amount of money like it is supposed to.

VictoryLand is a mystery operation to those who have never visited shorter before.

Taking a first hand look at the facility is the best way to predict what Country Crossing's electronic bingo facility may be like.

The small town of shorter Alabama is home to Victoryland Greyhound Track and Quincy’s Triple Seven Casino.

The dog track opened in 1984; electronic bingo started nine years later in 2003.

Owned by Milton McGregor, Victoryland pays more taxes and employs more people than any other business in Macon County.

More than 50,000 people pass through the doors each week. Some for the dog races, others for bingo.

Stanley Hubbard, Victoryland gaming director said, "We have electronic bingo games, traditional bingo that we play upstairs; we have pair mutual wagering, we have live greyhound racing, we have wagering, simulcast wagering on horse tracks."

Victoryland would not supply an exact percentage, but some of Victoryland's profits each year are equally split between 60 charities in Macon County.

"We've given $150 million dollars in total since opening,” Hubbard added/ “We give more money to the fire departments, all the schools in Macon County, the YMCA, etc."

There is a major difference between actual slot machines like those in Biloxi, Mississippi and the ones on this facility; the machines are hooked up to each other, which means players are playing against each other and not the house. Each machine also has a 5 by 5 bingo card located on it to show how the patterns create a bingo.

Some Wiregrass religious leaders have said they fear any form of gambling will promote prostitution, breed crime and destroy families, but Victoryland officials say that is not true.

"There is a lot of misleading information from the media and I think that a lot of opponents against this type of business have always spread that,” Hubbard continued. “As far as I know it’s never been substantiated in any form or fashion."

In fact, Victoryland has its own police department.

"We've always had a lot of security because it’s a lot of money and we want to make sure everyone knows it’s a safe place to come to," Hubbard explained.

People opposed to Country Crossing say crime will go up. We investigated to find out what happened in Shorter.

According to the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center, local crime actually went down after the bingo facility opened in Shorter five years ago.

Statistics from the Law Enforcement website show during all of 2000, a total of 17 people were arrested in Shorter. There were 27 thefts no rapes, assaults, or murders.

After the bingo operation opened in 2003, there were nine arrests, 28 thefts, but again, no rapes, assaults, or homicides.

And, in the most recent year for figures, in 2006, six people were arrested for crimes in Shorter, including one robbery and two thefts.

Keep in mind that Shorter, Alabama is a small town compared to Dothan, which has almost 60,000 residents. Shorter has about 400.

Hubbard claims overall, crime in Macon County went down after charity bingo was put in.

He thinks one reason is expanded job opportunities for the unemployed in the community.

In fact, once a planned expansion is complete, Victoryland will employ more than 2000 people.