By by Tim Cottrell
For 30 minutes Saturday night, bingo took a backseat.
At 6 p.m., the Poarch Band of Creek Indians celebrated the 20th anniversary of Indian Bingo on the reservation at the Bingo Palace as Poarch dignitaries and hundreds of bingo players looked on.
"(The customers are) okay with it, usually," Kay McDuffie, PCI Site Manager for Indian Bingo here at the Poarch Reservation, referring to the pause in Bingo to commemorate the anniversary. "Most of them know that April is when we celebrate our anniversary. Everyone seems real glad the tribe brought Bingo here and they're glad to see the tribe prosper."
Kitty Stuart, PCI Gaming General Manager, said she was pleased with the way things turned out.
"I thought it went excellent," Stuart said. "It was a very good night. I was overwhelmed that they dedicated the evening to me."
McDuffie gave the first speech of the night. While thanking everyone, she dedicated the evening to Stuart. Stuart became a bit overcome with emotions and was visibly shaken while giving her speech.
After several presentations and speeches, Bingo was able to resume at 6:30, but everyone in attendance was treated to punch, cake, and a complimentary commemorative mug.
McDuffie was especially proud of the mugs.
"We had nothing but good comments," she said. "Everyone seemed to like the mugs, too. They were all signed by the gaming directors."
Stuart had also received plenty of positive feedback.
"Everyone seemed to have a good time," she said. "There were lots of good comments about the cake and punch."
Stuart spoke of some of the future gaming plans for the tribe.
"We're still in the planning stage of developing the Atmore property," Stuart said. "We're looking at a hotel, casino, golf course, retail shops, maybe a waterpark, and an RV Park.
"With Wetumpka, the tribe has gone in with Harrah's Entertainment," Stuart continued. "They're going to build a hotel, casino, and a fine restaurant."
But in the meantime, both Stuart and McDuffie, who have both worked with the Indian Gaming in some capacity for all 20 years of its existence, were reflecting on a great 20 years.
"We've been around for a while," Stuart told the Advance in an earlier interview. "We've grown and we'll continue to grow."