Thoughts on GA legalizing gambling this year (Atlanta, Columbus: 2015, hotel)

[Hokiehaven]

https://www.wsbradio.com/news/local/...eefj4AaDtQzSL/

I personally don't really care, but seems like they are constantly looking for taxes, and yet don't do this.

I would say legalize marijuana if they really wanted all tax income, but they will never do that for fear it'll make GA blue.

[ATLTJL]

Doubtful.

I used to want them to do it.

I had Las Vegas dreams. Then reality hit me and I realized what casinos in Georgia would actually look like.

Now I'm against it.

[Need4Camaro]

I personally wouldnt want it, especially around the Atlanta area.

[ATL Golfer]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Doubtful.

I used to want them to do it.

I had Las Vegas dreams. Then reality hit me and I realized what casinos in Georgia would actually look like.

Now I'm against it.

This.

It would be a place where welfare checks are lost. It would be one of the more depressing places on earth.

We already have the lottery which steals from the poor to pay for rich families to send their kids to Athens.

All in for poker rooms though.

[lorilove]

Well I work in the industry - so for personal reasons I would love it because right now I travel a great deal!

My general thoughts:

1) Everybody has some sort of vice and you can't control what vices you personally approve of. There are people that eat out too much or shop when the can't afford to, there are others spending money on porn, there are others internet gambling etc.

2) There are ways to do it right and ways to screw it up. To start you need to keep the number of licensed casinos small and the quality high. If you have too many for the demand than they all lower their standards and chase after the lowest $ value player. At one point the plan was for 6 casinos state wide which seems reasonable.

3) Most residents don't realize how wide spread video gambling already is in Georgia. There are thousands of these second rate gambling machines (Coin Operated Amusement Machines) that target the poor. This is a very poorly regulated industry and Georgia would be better served by going all in on doing commercial Casinos correctly than continuing this path.

https://fox28media.com/news/local/ga...g-cash-payouts

[ATLTJL]

lorilove, you can set me straight if I'm wrong.

I really love casinos in Las Vegas. They are filled with great energy, fun bars, great bands, and they're just flat FUN.

HOWEVER....

I have never, ever, ever been to any casino outside Las Vegas that I would describe as even remotely tolerable. And I've been to a lot of them. They don't have live bands, they don't serve free drinks, they don't spring for good looking licensed games, and the people who go there appear to be people who actually think they are going to win money instead of people who understand they are spending money on entertainment.

Anyway, my point is this: If you have ever seen a casino outside Las Vegas (and maybe Macau), that has been done RIGHT, can you educate me and tell me where?

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

We already have the lottery which steals from the poor to pay for rich families to send their kids to Athens.

Except it’s merit-based, so any child can get a Hope or Zell Miller scholarship, which is the way it should be.

[lorilove]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

lorilove, you can set me straight if I'm wrong.

I really love casinos in Las Vegas. They are filled with great energy, fun bars, great bands, and they're just flat FUN.

HOWEVER....

I have never, ever, ever been to any casino outside Las Vegas that I would describe as even remotely tolerable. And I've been to a lot of them. They don't have live bands, they don't serve free drinks, they don't spring for good looking licensed games, and the people who go there appear to be people who actually think they are going to win money instead of people who understand they are spending money on entertainment.

Anyway, my point is this: If you have ever seen a casino outside Las Vegas (and maybe Macau), that has been done RIGHT, can you educate me and tell me where?

I currently work for a rural casino and we have live bands, free drinks, good licensed games - so they definitely exist. I used to be a consultant and in that position have been to many casinos across US and have seen lots of variety in what is offered If I was to recommend a casino not in Vegas - I would start with Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods in Connecticut. They are both Native American and right next door to each other but can be a different experience.

One thing I remind everyone is not all Casinos serve the same client base. In the same way TJ Maxx, Macy's and Sax Fifth Avenue are all successful in their market and McDonalds, Outback Steakhouse and Bones are successful in their market - casinos serve different markets.

Las Vegas makes for a very unique market compared to other casinos because they have a HUGE convention business. In Vegas - Non Gaming Revenue (Entertain, F&B, Hotel) exceeds Gaming Revenue. But this is not true outside of Vegas. Where I work, 80% of our revenue is Gaming and the non-gaming revenue is just amenities for our gamers. So in those environments you get a very different experience.

So I guess my message is that comparing a casino to Vegas is not apples to apples. What matters is if the casino is meeting the demands of it customer base.

If Georgia goes with the six casino model - I believe that included one downtown which would be on-par with Vegas. There was one in Savannah area - again a convention base but smaller in scale. There was a few suburb or rural casinos that would be targeted to locals which are different experiences.

[Hokiehaven]

Originally Posted by lorilove

I currently work for a rural casino and we have live bands, free drinks, good licensed games - so they definitely exist. I used to be a consultant and in that position have been to many casinos across US and have seen lots of variety in what is offered If I was to recommend a casino not in Vegas - I would start with Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods in Connecticut. They are both Native American and right next door to each other but can be a different experience.

One thing I remind everyone is not all Casinos serve the same client base. In the same way TJ Maxx, Macy's and Sax Fifth Avenue are all successful in their market and McDonalds, Outback Steakhouse and Bones are successful in their market - casinos serve different markets.

Las Vegas makes for a very unique market compared to other casinos because they have a HUGE convention business. In Vegas - Non Gaming Revenue (Entertain, F&B, Hotel) exceeds Gaming Revenue. But this is not true outside of Vegas. Where I work, 80% of our revenue is Gaming and the non-gaming revenue is just amenities for our gamers. So in those environments you get a very different experience.

So I guess my message is that comparing a casino to Vegas is not apples to apples. What matters is if the casino is meeting the demands of it customer base.

If Georgia goes with the six casino model - I believe that included one downtown which would be on-par with Vegas. There was one in Savannah area - again a convention base but smaller in scale. There was a few suburb or rural casinos that would be targeted to locals which are different experiences.

I thought the pitch, was less than six, more like 2-3, Atlanta, Savannah and maybe a third up North possibly? I hadn't really heard of more than that.

I agree vices can't actually be curbed. I think personally if it's going to be here, people who are going to gamble around ATL will travel for it anyway and casinos in general tend to be islands from everything else, so Downtown doesn't matter, so instead having it near the airport wouldn't be a bad thing if it happens with the millions that go through there every year.

Again, I'm not really pushing for it aggressively and I have my doubts on whether GA would even get something close to DC's if it happened. I would be far more keen on tax money for Hope from marijuana, whoever jumps at that in the South is going to rake it in, but I know it ain't happenin' here unless it's Federal.

[lorilove]

House Bill 677 called for:

It would create "five licensing regions" in the state with a "maximum of six casinos."

The zones would be Atlanta, Columbus, Macon, Savannah and South Georgia. Augusta would be included in the Atlanta region. As written in the bill, each zone would be allowed one license, except the Atlanta zone which would be allowed two.

There have been several different bills along the way. I am not sure what the most recent proposals are

HB*677*2015-2016 Regular Session

I personally don't gamble but it is a fascinating business to work in.