Legislation that will pave the way for lottery and table gaming in Alabama remains alive in the State Senate.

On Tuesday, the Senate Tourism and Marketing Committee voted 6-2 in favor of the proposal to hold a referendum on creating a state lottery and legalizing casino-style gambling in four locations across the state, The Washington Times reported.

The bill cleared its first hurdle in the legislature, but not without some drama.

State Sen. Del Marsh, who reintroduced the bill last July, said legalizing gambling will create at least $400 million in new revenue and generate 11,000 new jobs in Alabama, a good way to replenish the state’s coffers. But opponents argued that gambling will only “prey on the state’s poor.”