The long-struggling campaign to expand gambling in Georgia lost ground Friday when developer Dan O’Leary said he no longer controls the Norcross property where he dreamed of building the state’s first gaming complex.
The setback comes as other signs point to improving odds that advocates of more gambling will eventually succeed, however.
O’Leary said he’s not giving up on his vision of bringing a $1 billion gambling resort to metro Atlanta that would help fund the HOPE scholarship. But the state lottery board has shown no sign of approving his plan for video lottery terminals.
“We’ve extended the (land) contract seven times now, and at some point you’ve got to say, ‘It looks like there’s not going to be any action in the near-term, so let’s give it a break for a while,’” O’Leary told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
O’Leary had a contract on property near I-85 just outside the Perimeter from fiber optics manufacturer OFS, which has a plant on the site. He said he’s spent more than $2 million in the last eight years to develop the concept.
“When you look at all the good this could bring and the mindset of voters, it seems like a no-brainer,” said O’Leary, who operates downtown’s Underground Atlanta. “And for that reason we will not give up.”
Georgians two decades ago approved a lottery to fund the popular HOPE program, but attempts to expand gambling further have failed.
Opponents of more gambling say it would bring increased crime, higher divorce rates and plummeting property values. Yet even the fiercest foes acknowledge slowly growing momentum.
They point to a July vote as a test of public sentiment. In the first statewide gambling vote since Georgians approved the lottery in 1992, Republican voters narrowly approved a resolution approving “casino gambling with funds going to education” - language that evoked Las Vegas-style complexes with card games and roulette wheels. The vote was non-binding and didn’t carry the weight of the law, but conservative leaders fear it signaled a lasting cultural shift.
Since then, several powerful lawmakers have voiced support for a public vote on gambling. State Sen. Jack Murphy recently backed a referendum on legalizing horse racing. Murphy, R-Cumming, chairs a committee studying the issue.
It’s unlikely either of these proposals could advance without support from Gov. Nathan Deal, who has repeatedly said he opposes expanded gambling but supported the recent addition of online lottery sales as a way to boost revenue for the HOPE scholarship program, which depends on lottery revenue.
The Lottery Board could allow video terminals without Deal’s approval, but members have said they would not without support from elected officials. O’Leary said the lottery’s new head, Deal appointee Debbie Dlugolenski Alford, has not granted a meeting on his proposal.
“Unfortunately the lottery board seems to be stuck right now on this issue and I don’t know where it goes from here,” said state Rep. Ron Stephens, the chair of the House’s Economic and Development Committee and a supporter of O’Leary’s proposal for the Gwinnett complex. “The timing might not be right for now.”
O’Leary’s plan involves a game floor with 7,500 video lottery terminals that he said would funnel $350 million each year into the HOPE program and create 2,500 permanent jobs. He argued it wouldn’t need legislative approval because the terminals are already approved under Georgia law.
But it would need the backing of the lottery board, which would operate the terminals in order to deliver revenue to HOPE. The plan has been in limbo since board members said they would not do so without support from elected officials.
Opponents of O’Leary’s plan didn’t celebrate the news of his setback. Far from it.
“The fights not over yet - this just drives it further underground,” said Jerry Luquire, who heads the Georgia Christian Coalition. “Gambling’s coming. It’s just a matter of when. It’s difficult for politicians to oppose the will of the people. But every year we delay it makes it a better year.”
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