Heads and tales: Always bet on slack

Against the odds: For those keeping score, Gambling is illegal in Alabama, but “gambling” 😉 is still cool. Circuit Judge Scott Vowell ruled that the Birmingham Race Course’s sweepstakes is legal (or close enough). Gov. Riley promised to close the loopholes in state gaming laws. It’s really hard to know who to pull for in this fiasco: greedy gaming interests who’ll bleed the community dry, or overzealous pols and cops looking to pander to conservative voters. As always, we side with the hookers.
• Judge rules race course games legal but a ‘sham’ [Birmingham News]

King’s queen: Heiberger native Coretta Scott King died Monday at age 78 after battling cerebral vascular disease and ovarian cancer. She fought for women’s rights and the end of apartheid in South Africa. When she first met her future husband, Martin Luther King Jr., she was put off … because she thought he’d be taller. According to the timeline, she watched the King Day ceremonies on television two weeks ago, the 20th anniversary of the federal holiday.
• Coretta Scott King, a Civil Rights Icon, Dies at 78 [New York Times]

Financial security: Wallace Malone, founder of former Birmingham-based SouthTrust Bank, is leaving the Wachovia family. For his trouble, he’ll receive $135 million, and that’s on top of the $473 million worth of Wachovia stock from the 2004 buyout. Malone is putting $60 million toward founding a charity, though probably not for the thousands laid off. Hey, we hear the race course is hiring …
• Banker to Receive $135 Million Parachute [New York Times]

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