Alabama and Mississippi share more conservative characteristics than they have differences on religion, politics and Southern culture.
But when it comes to legalized gambling, Mississippi has more in common with New Jersey than its Deep South neighbor.
Mississippi casinos, 26 years since first opening in 1992, are cashing in to the tune of more than $2 billion a year while filling up the state coffers with around $250 million in revenues.
And more money is on its way when Mississippi becomes the first Southern state to allow legalized sports betting starting Wednesday.
Alabama, more than any Bible Belt state, has long recoiled over the notion of legalized gambling of any kind. And there are plenty of doubters on whether Alabama can move forward with sports gambling even after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 25-year-old federal ban against it outside of Nevada.
"President Trump will kneel for the National Anthem before Alabamians will get to vote on lottery, casinos and sports betting," said Danny Sheridan, a nationally known sports analyst and oddsmaker who resides in Mobile.
Sheridan will join a number of dignitaries, including former NFL star Willis McGahee, in placing the first bets when Mississippi rolls out legalized sports gambling on Wednesday.
Initial wages will be placed around noon at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, a 58-minute drive from downtown Mobile. Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica, along the Mississippi River southwest of Memphis, will also begin accepting legal sports wagers at the same time.
Pressure mounts
In Alabama, the potential to authorize legalized sports gambling has run up against reality of a decades-long opposition to gambling of any kind.
Critics contend that legalized gambling isn't worth the headache, brings on addiction and other social ills, isn't sound policy for generating state revenues, and is discouraged by many Christian denominations.
It's been 19 years since voters last had a chance to decide on a lottery. Three casinos are in operation in Alabama, only because they are located on tribal land. None of them are allowed to provide table games like blackjack or roulette.
The state is also one of nine that prohibits daily fantasy sports, a booming online industry that allows competitors to battle by fielding fictional teams of real players chosen from real sports leagues.
Legislative pressure is mounting in recent years to whittle away at the anti-gambling forces that have long dominated the state power structure.
Part of the frustration, particularly from lawmakers near the state's borders, stems from the lack of a state lottery. Tennessee, Georgia and Florida all have lotteries that, to some extent, provide funding for public education. Convenience stores are strategically placed near the Alabama border in each state to capitalize on residents on residents seeking scratch off tickets or Powerball.
"Alabamians support the lottery in three states, casino gambling and sports betting in Mississippi," said Sheridan, who isn't found of a lottery and calls it a regressive tax, but acknowledges that surrounding states are taking advantage of Alabama.
He added, "The bottom line is the people who are elected, they think that we are smart enough to elect them and they think we're not smart enough to vote on casino gambling or a lottery. The Legislature, those with that mentality, are an embarrassment."
Joe Godfrey, executive director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program, a powerful lobbying group funded by the state's Southern Baptists that has long opposed gambling expansion, sees things differently.
He said the fact that surrounding Southern states have gambling or lottery is not a sound reason to push for something similar in Alabama.
"The pro-gambling forces are always pushing for more and more and they always use the 'other state around you' as an excuse that other states are going doing it so why can't we?" said Godfrey. "The reality is that the whole thing is just a way to make money for the gambling bosses. They are the big winners."
Anti-gambling lawmakers also are skeptical that Alabama benefits from adding slot machines or lottery tickets.
Rep. Rich Wingo, R-Tuscaloosa - a former player and coach at the University of Alabama, who played seven years in the NFL - said sports gambling will "pervert" the state's favorite pastime: College football.
"Now all of a sudden, people will be watching Alabama and Auburn because they have money on the line and then the field goal kicker misses the field goal," said Wingo. "It puts it in a different perspective with money on the line rather than a sport and an enjoyable event versus something you could lose on financially."
Lottery fate
For those wanting more gambling options in Alabama, there is little to show since voters rejected a proposal to authorize a state lottery in 1999. It was the last time voters got to weigh in on a gambling-related proposal through referendum, though most political observers believe there would be a different result today.
"I would assume lottery would be approved if it were placed on the ballot," said Andrew Billings, director of the Alabama Program in Sports Communication and Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting at the University of Alabama. "And I would assume sports betting would be approved by a higher percentage of the population."
Giving voters a chance to decide on a lottery has been discussed on the campaign trail this year.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, the Democratic nominee for governor, is pushing for a lottery that his campaign believes will pump $300 million per year into education.
"As we've watched Alabama citizens fund the educations of children in surrounding states by enthusiastically playing their lotteries over the years, it's brought a hard lesson that waiting to adopt new revenue sources can lead to the loss of billions of dollars over time," said Chip Hill, spokesman with the Maddox campaign.
Maddox's campaign also confirmed with AL.com that the mayor is supportive of Alabama authorizing legalized sports gambling. During the primary season, his Democratic opponent, Sue Bell Cobb, was the only candidate pushing for it.
"We should immediately begin consideration of legalized sports gaming so that there's not another moment in the future when we look back with regret over not moving quickly enough," Hill said.
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey has not commented on whether she supports legalized sports gambling. She has said that she supports a referendum for a lottery, but that a decision would have to be made by the Legislature.
The last time a lottery decision went before state lawmakers was during a special session in 2016, after former Gov. Robert Bentley - a Baptist deacon - pushed for it. The House adopted a constitutional amendment to give voters the chance to weigh in, but it was defeated in the Senate.
Daily fantasy sports
Lottery bills did not surface in 2017 or 2018, but lawmakers did bring up another gambling-related bill on a daily fantasy sports that was backed by the industry giants, FanDuel and DraftKings. The two companies pulled out of Alabama in 2016, after former state Attorney General Luther Strange issued cease and desist orders to them.
Strange's efforts led to the daily fantasy sports bill receiving the Alabama House's "Shroud" award for 2016. The distinction is issued annually in the House and recognizes the "deadest" bill of a legislative session.
Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia lawmakers have all agreed to allow daily fantasy sports within their state boundaries, according to one online analysis that tracks laws in each state.
State Sen. Thomas Whatley, R-Auburn, has been a past sponsor of the daily fantasy sports legislation in Alabama. He anticipates legislation resurfacing again in 2019.
The bill has split lawmakers, especially Republicans who hold a supermajority status in the Legislature.
"The politicians, what they will do is put the finger in the air and see which way the political winds are blowing," said Godfrey, a leading opponent to daily fantasy sports. "They will decide whatever they need to do to get elected. Even the Republicans, who I thought would stand on convictions. Someone needs to stand up on what is right."
Chance vs. skill
For Alabama lawmakers, a legal question surfaced during the daily fantasy sports debate and would likely arise while discussing sports gambling: Are these activities "game of chance" or "game of skill."
If a judge were to rule sports gambling a game of chance, then it's legalization would depend, much like the lottery, on amending the 1901 Alabama Constitution. The only way to do that is with a referendum, approved by state lawmakers.
In Mississippi, the authorization of sports betting occurred with vote from the legislature and does not include a referendum.
"The fly in the ointment in Alabama is that we have a constitutional provision involving lotteries and games of chance that other states do not," said Jess Brown, a retired political science professor at Athens State University. "The legislatures have more freedom in other states."
Legal scholars seem split on whether the Legislature can unilaterally approve sports gambling or if approval requires a constitutional amendment via a referendum.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall's Office believes constitutional change would be needed because of the likelihood of court challenges.
"A constitutional amendment would be the only way to conclusively establish the legality of sports gambling in Alabama," said Mike Lewis, spokesman with Attorney General Steve Marshall.
John Carroll, a law professor at Cumberland School of Law and a former magistrate judge for the Middle District of Alabama, said he believes the Legislature can authorize sports betting without running afoul of the constitutional ban on lotteries.
Carroll said that Alabama has already allowed betting on dog races - the state has three dog tracks -- and allows parimuteul betting for in-person or TV simulcasts of dog and horse races.
Parimuteul wagering, ruled legal by the Alabama Supreme Court in 1971, is a system of betting on races where the winner divides the total amount of the bet in proportion to the sums that are gambled individually.
"It seems to me that true sports betting, which is whether Alabama beats Mississippi by 25 points, is far closer to a game of skill than a game of chance," said Carroll. "You have to analyze team players and that sort of thing."
Godfrey, with anti-gambling ALCAP, argues that there is more chance than skill in sports betting. He said, "You take a chance that the referee is not going to make a bad call or your take a chance that a player stays healthy. You can call it skill if you want, but that's bogus. It's chance."
Sheridan, who began providing sports odds for USA Today in 1982, said sports betting is a game of skill.
Said Sheridan: "If you buy a piece of property, you use your skill. You are taking a chance, but you need skill. You want to open a business, that is also skill. Yes, you are taking a chance. I can assure you, that in my whole adult life in this industry, handicapping sports and sports betting is a game of skill. If it was a game of chance, I wouldn't have devoted as many hours to it."
Looking to 2019
Another question facing Alabama right now is if the 2019 legislative session, which will be highlighted with new faces elected during the Nov. 6 general election, will represent a golden opportunity to introduce some sort of gambling.
Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, said that politically, the beginning of the four-year terms "is a good time to look at what's out there."
"This is why you would want to do it during the early part of the quadrennial," Singleton said. "People will have gotten over their elections and between now and three years, you can work it out with your constituency. Now is a great time to look at aggressive new means to bring in new revenue into the state."
Brown, the retired political science professor at Athens State, said he believes lawmakers will return to Montgomery in January and find out the state is already flush with more revenue than in years past.
"The economy is generating more, there will be the Internet sales tax," said Brown, who also said that a fuel tax increase could also be looked at. "They will be flushed with revenue. That may take some of the pressure off of doing (gambling) for the money."
He also suspects the Poarch Band of Creek Indians - which owns and operates the three tribal casinos - holds enough political sway to keep a gambling expansion from occurring without some sort of compact.
Wingo and Godfrey, though, will plan to oppose any new measures. And their argument will focus around some of the dire facts about states that do have gambling, including Mississippi, which typically ranks among the lowest in quality of life standards and education.
"Mississippi is where gambling was supposed to solve all of its problems back in 1992," said Wingo. "Go back, and that was supposed to be the fix-all. But it hasn't. The state is still last and I think it's a prime example."