Three Republican committee chairmen are among a group of state House members pushing the Georgia Lottery board to expand gambling in the state by approving video gaming terminals to raise revenue for the beleaguered HOPE scholarship and pre-K program.
Nearly two dozen representatives signed onto a resolution Wednesday, a day after a plan for a $1 billion hotel, theater and video gambling complex in Gwinnett County surfaced.
But Gov. Nathan Deal, who has previously indicated his displeasure with broadening gaming in the state, held firm.
“I did have the meeting with the gentleman,” Deal said of developer Dan O’Leary, who is pitching the idea, “and I saw his plans, and it looks like a casino to me and that’s not good.”
Asked if Deal’s comments mean the governor would oppose any move to approve video gambling, Deal spokesman Brian Robinson replied, “He said he’s against it.”
O’Leary, who runs Underground Atlanta, said his proposed complex along I-85 in Norcross could generate $350 million per year for HOPE and pre-K in its first phase.
The complex would create 2,500 permanent jobs and be a boon to surrounding communities and the state’s struggling economy, O'Leary said.
O’Leary has said his operation is not a casino. Gaming would be through terminals that look like video slot machines that would be controlled and regulated by the lottery.
The governor-appointed lottery board has the authority to approve the use of video lottery terminals (VLTs), O'Leary said.
Then-Attorney General Thurbert Baker previously said the board could make that decision. But a spokeswoman for current Attorney General Sam Olens said Wednesday that his office would have to see a concrete proposal from the lottery to determine if the board has such authority.
In any case, the chairman of the lottery board, James Braswell, told a legislative panel last month he did not think the board would act unilaterally to broaden gambling.
“I don’t think the board unilaterally would step out there to do that,” Braswell told a joint House-Senate committee discussing VLTs. “We’ve always viewed this a public policy decision.”
A spokeswoman for the Georgia Lottery said the board has not received a proposal from O’Leary. The next board meeting is slated for April 19.
The board will likely come under political pressure from both sides of the gambling argument.
State Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, chairman of the House Economic Development & Tourism Committee, introduced H.R. 1640, the resolution encouraging the lottery board to allow VLTs to increase lottery revenue, which is not keeping up for demand for HOPE or the popular pre-K program.
A Georgia Lottery-commissioned study last year suggested three VLT gambling sites with 10,000 terminals could generate nearly $1 billion per year.
"The idea is to create tourism destinations," Stephens said, adding places like Atlanta and Savannah could be appropriate places for the centers.
Stephens was joined in his resolution by Roger Williams, R-Dalton, chairman of the Regulated Industries committee; Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, chairman of the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Oversight committee; and Butch Parrish, R-Swainsboro, vice chairman of the House Appropriations committee.
At least 21 members, mostly Democrats, had co-signed as of Wednesday afternoon.
The lottery commission would set up, control, own and operate the centers, Stephens said. Local governments would have to approve.
"The key word here is local control," Stephens said.
O’Leary said Wednesday that he wants to inform lawmakers and others about his proposal and how it could help lottery-funded education programs.
He said he has approached Stephens but did not ask him to introduce the resolution.
The developer said he understands others oppose gambling on moral or other grounds.
“I will say that our project can definitely help a lot of people in Georgia . . . not only quickly but for generations,” he said.
Jerry Luquire, who heads the Georgia Christian Coalition, said his group expects Deal to back up what he says about opposing more gaming.
“We are expecting him to keep his word and we’re holding him to it,” Luquire said.
The inability to grow revenue for the popular but threatened HOPE program gives politicians some cover for examining new forms of gaming, said Charles Bullock, professor of political science at the University of Georgia.
But for Republicans that comes with some risk, he added.
“The evangelical community is an increasingly important component of the Republican electorate," Bullock said.
Staff Writers Laura Diamond and Aaron Gould Sheinin contributed to this report.
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