Mayweather Jr. Seeks Lawsuit KO

Professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. has filed a more than $61 million claim against a company involved with the now-defunct Country Crossing casino and entertainment complex in Dothan, Ala.

Mayweather filed his claim July 2 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Middle District of Alabama against Resorts Development Group II LLC, which owns the facility and ampthitheatre, according to the Dothan Eagle.

Mayweather initially loaned $4 million to the project headed by Ronnie Gilley Entertainment and RDG but sued to get his money back in 2010. Mayweather’s agreement reportedly said he’d be paid back $4 million plus $1 million in interest by June of that year, but that never happened.

Country Crossing was raided and shut down in 2010 for having about 1,700 electronic bingo machines on the premises, which are considered illegal under the state’s gambling laws.

The $61 million figure was determined based on Mayweather’s May 2010 promissory note. It includes a default clause that states that interest of $100,000 accrues once the repayment due date has passed, according to the Eagle.

Listed as collateral for the note is all revenues from the area’s annual BamaJam music festival, formerly promoted by Gilley, and the purchase agreement for the BamaJam Festival Fairgrounds, the paper said.

A judge is said to be considering whether to accept the boxing champ’s claim even though it was filed a couple of months past the deadline to submit. A decision is expected by Aug. 7.

Mayweather is just one of numerous parties filing claims against the twice-defunct casino and entertainment project.
Country Crossing, renamed Center Stage Alabama, reopened July 1, 2011, under new ownership with 500 new,
“traditional paperless bingo machines” that officials claimed were compliant with state law. By August, it was déjà vu with the State Attorney General’s Office issuing a cease-and-desist order to Center Stage to stop using said machines because they were illegal.

Center Stage Alabama officials filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Jan. 9 to restructure $68 million in debt as the facility continued to operate.

However, state and local law enforcement raided and shut down Center Stage July 25 of this year, seizing hundreds of bingo machines, as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal gambling activity there.