About this app
About Great 27
VGW’s $100,000 contribution to Tuberville brings its total campaign contributions in Alabama this year to more than $351,000. The bulk of the funds—$170,000—went to North Alabama PAC, a political action committee managed by operative Steve Ruby.
Ruby is being funded by numerous gaming entities that want to see Alabama legalize gambling and sports betting. His donor list, along with VGW, includes DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
VGW gave $20,000 to state Sen. Andrew Jones (R-District 10) and $15,000 to Senate President Pro Tempore Garlan Gudger (R-District 4). State Sens. Donnie Chesteen (R-District 29) and Will Barfoot (R-District 25), along with Republican candidate John Roberts, who is running in the second district, each received $10,000 from VGW.
How to play Great 27
The pair established Sanum Investments and partnered with Laotian conglomerate ST Group. Baldwin later testified that the investors initially committed around $7.5 million to the venture, which envisaged two casino resorts and several slot clubs.
Their biggest success was Savan Vegas, strategically located near the Friendship Bridge linking Laos with neighboring Thailand across the Mekong River. A planned second resort, Paksong Vegas, was never built.
Within several years, however, the partnership had soured.
How to play Great 27
In Maryland, the state’s six casinos combined to win $160 million in August, representing a 6% drop from the prior year. In Virginia, casino revenue from its five casinos was $97.6 million, almost 5% lower than August 2025.
In Delaware, in-person casino revenue eased almost 3% to $43.8 million, and in New York, racino GGR plunged 38% to $137.2 million.
West Virginia, the only other state traditionally included in the Mid-Atlantic, does not issue monthly casino revenue reports.
