Atlanta Casinos

[THE KOD]

Updated: 5:08 p.m. January 13, 2009

UNDERGROUND ATLANTA
Developer wants to build casino at Underground
By RACHEL TOBIN RAMOS, LEON STAFFORD

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Underground Atlanta is ready to roll the dice.

The operator of the downtown attraction said he has brought a proposal to the Georgia Lottery Board for a casino that would fund the HOPE scholarship and bring millions in tax dollars to the city.

While the idea of a downtown casino has been kicked around for years, this is the first concrete plan brought forward by a developer and presented to an institution that can make it a reality.

In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday, developer Dan O?Leary, who with his business partner John Aderhold, holds a 50-year lease on Underground Atlanta, outlined a $450 million proposal that would bring up to 5,000 video lottery machines, completely gut and redevelop Underground and add a new 29-story hotel.

O?Leary estimates the casino would generate gross receipts of $600 million. Half of that would go to the lottery board.

?In order to truly change the perception of Underground,? he said, ?we do have to bring a very significant element to that property that it doesn?t have now ? a big draw. VLT machines would be an anchor tenant that would bring folks in.?
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they really need to do something. Atlanta at night is pretty much dead. And if your in the wrong area then you can be too.

Atlanta faces the biggest budget problems of any large city. Through mis management , corruption, and fraud.

Let the people gamble. Put the money into getting more police and fire dept people instead of laying them off.

Slots would be a start.

:00hour

 

[vinnie]

They should put every big city underground :00hour

 

[UGA12]

A casino without live dealers= SHIT

I find it hard to believe you would have that many people running to an all electronic casino in the middle of atlanta. Now I know that slots are where casinos make their money, but I have a hard time seeing a bunch of old folks wanting to unload around underground:shrug: More power to them, I would ask how they could approve this and turn down dealers. Legally whats the difference?

 

[Doubledown21]

electronic casino = suckers bet . All electronic gaming is nothing but a slot machine. Stay away from them. No better yet run away !

 

[Wineguy]

A casino without live dealers= SHIT

I find it hard to believe you would have that many people running to an all electronic casino in the middle of atlanta. Now I know that slots are where casinos make their money, but I have a hard time seeing a bunch of old folks wanting to unload around underground:shrug: More power to them, I would ask how they could approve this and turn down dealers. Legally whats the difference?

Agree wholeheartedly. Live within 3 miles of there and the idea without cards with people will fail as does EVERYTHING else in Underground. :142smilie
Our downtown UNDERGROUND sucks without Conventions traffic. And they DO NOT GO THERE!!!! Old history.....:sadwave: :sadwave:

 

[bsucards]

we have the e- table games at the two horse tracks outside of Indy - One to NE and one to the SE. I went to one and it wasn't bad, everyone was still talking among each other and they had a casino person near by to make sure everyone was playing fair.

They have a video screen basically that plays the same clip over and over saying place your bets etc, and they rotate them every 15-30 min from table to table.

 

[THE KOD]

Proposal would leave casinos up to counties
By LEON STAFFORD, RACHEL TOBIN RAMOS

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Just days after Underground Atlanta officials announced their hopes of bringing video gaming to the downtown attraction, a state legislator wants to offer full-fledged casinos statewide.

Rep. Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta) said Friday he plans to introduce legislation in the General Assembly next week that would allow voters to decide whether they want to bring gambling to their individual counties.

By going this route, he said, each jurisdiction will have the opportunity to plot its own destiny, instead of letting legislators decide.

?What I?m talking about doing is creating full-scale casinos or horse racing if they want them,? he said.

Gambling in Georgia has been bandied about for years, especially as states across the country have seen huge revenue gains from visitors and locals playing poker or spinning the roulette wheel.

House Speaker Pro-Tem Mark Burkhalter (R-Johns Creek) said last month most lawmakers in the Republican majority don?t support changing the state?s constitution to allow gambling. He couldn?t be reached immediately for this story.

Bert Brantley, a spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue, said the governor has never seen a gambling proposal move through the Legislature but ?would have serious concerns about any kind of an idea like this.?

While the idea has never been voted on by citizens, Bruce said one of the big criticisms Georgians have expressed is that gambling would stoke crime, an argument he dismisses. He said without a new economic stimulus, the state will face increased crime anyway.

Dan O?Leary, one of the partners in Underground, said earlier this week he has a $450 million proposal before the Georgia Lottery Board to build a casino at Underground featuring video lottery terminals. He says the money would be a boon for the state, with half of the proceeds designated for the HOPE scholarship and the city, along with increased sales taxes and spending from visitors.

O?Leary?s plan would call for a makeover of Underground, the addition of upscale restaurants and retailers and the construction of a new 29-story hotel.

O?Leary?s proposal would not include roulette tables and other trappings of a full-fledged casino. One argument he makes for a casino at Underground is that Georgians spend $200 million annually gambling in nearby states, including Alabama, North Carolina and Mississippi.

About Bruce?s bill, O?Leary said: ?The focus on the issue of gaming only helps to raise awareness of all of the economic benefits, but beyond that, we don?t want to speculate. Our proposal is very specific and focused on just VLT gaming, which does not need to involve legislation.?

Fulton County Commissioner Rob Pitts, a vocal supporter of casinos, said he is behind any legislation that will help bring gambling to Georgia. He has distributed a survey asking residents their feelings on casinos, including whether they should have the opportunity to vote on it.

?However it gets introduced and passed is alright with me. I just want the people to have the chance to vote on it,? said Pitts, who has spoken with Bruce about his proposal. ?The only thing the Legislature can do is to delay it.?

Bruce said, given its financial shape, the state needs to take casinos seriously.

?My thought is we have exhausted state sales taxes, we have exhausted property taxes, we need to try something new,? he said.

He has the backing of some of his fellow legislators, he said, but declined to name them.

He also is aware that he has a steep hill to climb to get the legislation through the statehouse. Some Atlanta and Fulton County leaders have backed casinos for years but have not been able to gain traction in the Legislature.

Bruce said the discussion has to start somewhere. Many leaders were initially against the lottery but later backed it when the state faced financially challenging times.

?With enough public support saying we as a state want to do this, opinions can change,? he said.
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Georgia being in the bible belt has always been stogie about gambling. Hell we still have blue laws that do not allow buying liquor on Sunday !

They always said that gambling brings crime. The dumb asses. With this economy , you want to see some crime just hold on to the offering plate.

Tax it, enjoy it, mark it with a Z , and throw gambling in the place where we can vote on it.

 

[dawgball]

You couldn't pay me $200 in free gambling chips to go to the Underground at night for a casino of any sort.

Scott -- Downtown Atlanta is dead at night, but the other areas of the city do a lot better with foot traffic. (Midtown, Highlands, Brookhaven, etc.)