I'm surprised there isn't a thread about this yet.

I checked the regional communities section as well and couldn't find anything for Atlanta or Georgia in general.

A compromise to legalize casinos in Georgia is moving ahead in the state Legislature, with a scaled-back effort that would allow two gaming “destination resorts” — one in Atlanta and one in either Savannah, Columbus or Augusta.

The governor, Nathan Deal, supports the measure as well. The governor’s comments on Tuesday come as pro-gambling lawmakers are set to introduce legislation that would allow casinos in Atlanta and several other cities.

In short, the bill would allow for two casinos in Georgia. The Atlanta one requires a two billion dollar investment and the other (Savannah/Columbus/Augusta) requires 450 million. Anyone familiar with this area knows that it is the mother****ing black hole of poker. Your only options are Jacksonville way south and Cherokee way north. If this goes through I think the smart money is for Savannah to get the 2nd casino. All that old money on the coast of South Carolina currently has no options to legally gamble within 4+ hrs.

Here's an article from 2015 that seemed like a pipe dream to me until today.
http://www.mobilecasinoparty.com/geo...-for-gambling/

This is a huge win for the Southeast as a whole. I have a feeling like this bill is going to go through. The only downside I can see is that they do something dumb like only allow slots. I never thought I'd see Georgia propose this in my lifetime. I'll be following this closely and will keep the thread updated.

That would be sweet. I'm moving to ATL later this year. It's been happening everywhere, why not GA? Money talks....

The bill gets voted on by the committee on Thursday. This is moving along quickly. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) believes it will get through the Senate once it is out of committee.

http://www.ajc.com/news/state--regio...59L9QapUZ8XHO/

Even if it passes it has to also pass a public vote on a statewide ballot and I don't think that can happen until November.
There will be nothing quick about this.
Casinos in Georgia would be fantastic!!

Terrible news, folks! The worst tragedy of our times!

Well, I suppose it could be worse.

The Senate committee vote didn't happen today. A faction of the committee decided Wednesday night that the vote wouldn't even be held.

Best case scenario is that the vote is rescheduled to occur on Monday. Let's be optimistic and hope that this is an advanced negotiating tactic for a better deal for the state. This bill will be effectively dead (and with it any chance of passing casino legislation till next year) if it doesn't have a "yea" vote from the committee by Tuesday morning. At this point we need to count on our hero (see below) re-writing the bill and rallying support over the weekend.

Here's the pessimistic report from this morning:
http://www.ajc.com/news/state--regio...MwhuF254XMqiI/

Here's the optimistic report from this afternoon:
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/...134470344.html

Here is the middling state of the situation this evening:
http://www.11alive.com/news/local/ca...each/413673469

Hero - Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta


Villain - Sen. Rick Jeffares, R-McDonough


If you live in Georgia feel free to let these guys know how you feel.

The vote is happening on Monday.

The bill is dead until 2018.

On the bright side, Senator Beach is planning on sponsoring a similar bill in 2018. See you next year!