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January 2009
Gambling good for tourists, Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If some conventioneers are complaining they are bored due to a paucity of nightlife in Atlanta, it might be that we are just not doing a good enough job marketing what we have. Even in Buckhead where we went through an intentional cleansing of a dangerously disorderly district, we still have much to do after dark. Just in the five-block West Village (bounded by Roswell, Andrews and Paces Ferry roads) we have 24 establishments with alcoholic licenses!
What do you think after reading the debate between former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell and AJC columnist Jay Bookman on a proposed casino to revive Underground. Massell makes the “pro” argument; Bookman takes the “con” position.
Of course, centrally located Underground Atlanta — most convenient to the Georgia World Congress Center and convention hotels — was created and designed for nightlife. It offers a lot for visitors and local revelers alike, and warrants our universal support. In its early days, there wasn’t an airline magazine or any other travel periodical that didn’t have an article or ad inviting the world to sample its mystique.
As residents, we would all do well to help promote — to visit and support — this downtown party place, if for no other than a selfish effort to reduce its deficit, which annually costs every taxpayer in our city. The bonds issued by Atlanta have to be paid off by Underground’s income — which isn’t enough at present.
One indisputable way to make it a success and entertain tourists would be to add casino gambling, as proposed by Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts and others. This could also close the gap in the city’s budget and other governmental entities, such as MARTA.
Realistically, however, it might still be some years before the majority of state legislators reach the conclusion that their constituents would favor this income source over ever-increasing property taxation. I believe firmly, however, the support is already there for slot machines.
Travel the state roads throughout Georgia and one doesn’t have to look very hard to find pubs, gas stations, general stores and other mom and pop businesses that now have such machines operating daily. Illegal? Yes, and that’s the reason the state doesn’t benefit from the income. The lack of law enforcement is because the public wants the slots, period.
When the people — particularly women who are historically the major patrons of slot machines — tell their representatives they want them legalized, Underground and places throughout the state can prosper. So this is where we should start, to please the conventioneers and financially benefit every local government that wants to participate.
Not so incidentally, I understand our Georgia lottery law is written in a way that would allow the Georgia Lottery Corp. to go into the slot machine business now, selling video lottery games. It would help boost the HOPE scholarship program, but it would also be very helpful to generate income for other purposes.
Yes, we need to better market what we already have, we need to foster improvements, and we need to maintain balance with an orderly nightlife atmosphere. This is a formula that can benefit us all.
• Sam Massell is president of the Buckhead Coalition and a former mayor of Atlanta.
Most memorable line from inaugural address?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some inaugural addresses offer lines that enter the common language. Others sink into oblivion. Is there a line or phrase in Barack Obama’s inaugural speech that you think will be long remembered? If so, which one and why?
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