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Old 12-26-2008, 12:17 PM
 
17 posts, read 48,710 times
Reputation: 24
I know this has been discussed for years, but because of our current economic crisis, politicians have been once again pushing for a casino in downtown ATL.

What do you think? Will this help turn around downtown or simply add to the problems?

I personally believe that if it is done correctly it could reshape the image and economy (for the better) of this city.

Thoughts?
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Old 12-26-2008, 01:01 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
239 posts, read 922,933 times
Reputation: 83
In my opinion it is a VERY bad idea. Our mayor, however, seems to disagree... Casinos in Atlanta? Shirley says “sure” | Fresh Loaf
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Old 12-26-2008, 01:18 PM
 
13,981 posts, read 25,954,920 times
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The only way I would think a casino beneficial to a community is when the city itself is a tourist mecca, like Las Vegas, and when the city reaps the profits off of visitors. In Atlanta it would need to depend on the local citizens to be profitable, and I don't think the population would/should/could support it. Atlantic City is dying for business right now, as is Las Vegas. Lots of layoffs and cut-rate room rates.
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Old 12-26-2008, 01:31 PM
 
Location: Inman Park (Atlanta, GA)
21,870 posts, read 15,087,284 times
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I think that a casino would be a great additional tourist attraction for the city. I probably would not go and support it, however, I don't think that it's success would be based on the citizens of Georgia. My understanding is that we do not keep conventioneers for the weekend.

Atlanta is a great place to live, but is it that great of a place to visit as a tourist?
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Old 12-26-2008, 02:00 PM
 
1,582 posts, read 2,185,517 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattie View Post
The only way I would think a casino beneficial to a community is when the city itself is a tourist mecca, like Las Vegas, and when the city reaps the profits off of visitors. In Atlanta it would need to depend on the local citizens to be profitable, and I don't think the population would/should/could support it. Atlantic City is dying for business right now, as is Las Vegas. Lots of layoffs and cut-rate room rates.
Actually Atlanta attracts nearly 40 million visitors anuually to coventions, trade shows etc. It isn't tourism per se but its enough to rank in the top 10 in the country in that category. Casinos would only enhance the city's ability to attract those kind of events.

That being said I would rather the city not get sidetracked with more touristy attractions.

By the way, this proposal is not related to the economic situation. The state legislator that represents the city brings it up every year but it never goes anywhere.
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Old 12-26-2008, 02:13 PM
 
7,845 posts, read 20,810,197 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by J2rescue View Post
Actually Atlanta attracts nearly 40 million visitors anuually to coventions, trade shows etc. It isn't tourism per se but its enough to rank in the top 10 in the country in that category. Casinos would only enhance the city's ability to attract those kind of events.

That being said I would rather the city not get sidetracked with more touristy attractions.

By the way, this proposal is not related to the economic situation. The state legislator that represents the city brings it up every year but it never goes anywhere.
I was just getting ready to post the same information...about half the visitors to Atlanta are tourists...but all 40 million come to spend money and have a good time.

I have always felt like casinos are a little trashy, no matter how shiny and glitzy they are. I would rather see some more sustainable attractions to add to Atlanta's list of tourist spots like the King Center, Stone Mountain, Centennial Park, professional sports and music shows/theater, the Carter Center, the High Museum, etc.
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Old 12-26-2008, 07:16 PM
 
17 posts, read 48,710 times
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Hey I agree that Casinos are not the only answer for Atlanta, but the AJC among others have estimated that it could infuse 1-2 billion dollars in the local economy. The tax revenues alone would be enormous.

Everyone who posted thus far has basically opposed this idea, but my question is why? What are the specifics? Are they based on your own opinions/morality issues? Like I said, casinos are not the holy grail for our city, but I dont hear any other ideas that would infuse this much cash in a short amount of time into this debt sticken city.
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Old 12-26-2008, 08:55 PM
 
Location: West Cobb County, GA (Atlanta metro)
9,191 posts, read 33,885,851 times
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This was discussed in a somewhat recent thread, and doing a search will find additional threads. I think the general consensus is that the police can't handl the crime as it is now, and since a measurable percentage of rent-a-cops have records themselves (per local news investigations), how would you keep petty crime from swarming all over the casino areas?

Then again, it might be a good thing. If the robbers and thugs flock to rob the tourists and gamblers to do their thing, maybe it'll keep them out of Buckhead and other areas.
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Old 12-27-2008, 10:43 AM
 
561 posts, read 781,142 times
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Detroit, which has three Downtown Casinos, did not experience any noticeable difference in crime around their Casinos after they were in place, and Detroit is a much more crime ravaged city than ATL can ever be.

Hell, Motor City Casino is smack dab in the middle of a housing project, and increased crime is not a problem.

All that needs to be done is the City of Atlanta should mandate that the Casino owners maintain a certain amount of cleanliness and security around the Casinos in their gaming agreements. That way, the burden is not on the taxpayers to provide more cops for security. It would be the Casino's responsibility to hire off-duty cops and other security measures.

If the casinos are found to not be in compliance, boom, there goes your gaming license.

Security measures would include, but not be limited to: escorts to your vehicle after a night of gambling, security posts with officers in parking decks, high tech surveillance systems, etc.

This will provide proper safety and reassurance for gamblers to visit a casino that is open 24 hours a day.

Casinos are not a bad idea, if properly done. They can bring more tourist $, infuse tax revenue into schools, infrastructure, or whatever the tax payers voices would like for the money to be allocated to. The trick is to put the burden of building and maintaining the casinos on their owners and not the taxpayer.

Hell, I think Atlanta needs an entertainment district downtown anyways, full of bars/clubs, casinos, restaurants, and amusements. As long as proper security is provided, why not bring in more tourists and revenue with bars that stay open later (meaning patrons spend more and tax revenues are higher). You would have to have a nice designated driver program with cabs on-demand in the area. Also, MARTA would have to be 24hrs, managed better, and more secure to help with this issue (wishful thinking, right?). I just wish that MARTA would get some state and federal funding to help with this, since this is the only mass transit system that doesn't get this type of funding.

This can be done correctly if forward thinking is used on the front end, instead of waiting for problems to arise, and then solving them. Lessons can be learned from other cities who have tried and failed, or tried and succeeded.

Who's with me? Mossberg for City Council.
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Old 12-27-2008, 07:21 PM
 
Location: ATL
4,688 posts, read 8,021,034 times
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Ga has the lottery and that is no different than having a Casino
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