A Casino in Downtown Atlanta?

The Georgia Lottery Board met recently and the idea of a $450 million casino for downtown Atlanta came up, but nobody wanted to talk about it much.  Despite a plea from a Fulton County Commissioner, the board didn't address the proposal, other than to simply take it under review.  From an article on MSNBC: 

The Georgia Lottery Board's first meeting since a plan surfaced to build a $450 million Atlanta casino almost ended without a mention of the plan — until a Fulton County politico broke the silence. "We have a unique opportunity," said Fulton County Commissioner Rob Pitts, who stepped forward before the board was to adjourn. "And my appeal to you today is to act." Not only did members of the seven-member board not vote on the proposal by Atlanta developer to build a casino to help fund the HOPE scholarship — they were reluctant to talk about it at all. Several board members declined to speak to reporters and Tony Campbell, the board's chair, simply said it was "under evaluation and review."

 The casino plan involves a partnership between the owners of Underground Atlanta and Delaware's Dover Downs to build a 29-story hotel & casino with 5,000-5,5000 Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs).  This would be a big facility: larger than the biggest proposed casino in Maryland and with more machines than any of the PA casinos, for example. 

Apparently, Underground Atlanta has been struggling for a while (who hasn't?) and a casino has been talked about for years.  A 2007 study estimated that one full-scale casino in downtown Atlanta could bring in over $1.7 billion in economic impact to downtown & create over 10,000 jobs.   Those numbers seem a little high to me, but no doubt, a casino in downtown Atlanta could have a very positive economic impact on the city.  We'll see....maybe the GA Lottery Board will become more receptive as the economy stays down and talk of deficits and unemployment further dominates our national discourse.

According to the MSNBC article, Georgia lottery law currently allows VLTs, so they could be added only with the board's approval. This would probably need support from Gov. Sonny Perdue, who hasn't much warmed to the idea previously.  Casino supporters are already tying the casino to the state's acclaimed HOPE Scholarship program.  In Maryland, the gaming-education argument was significant in passing the VLT referendum last November.   I wonder how this concept may play out in Georgia if the Atlanta proposal gains more traction and support, in addition to the economic impact argument .