At a recent public meeting at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, members of the Georgia House of Representatives’ Special Committee on Economic Growth took comments from a standing-room-only crowd that overwhelmingly voiced enthusiasm for an on-site casino.
State Rep. Rick Williams said it was the friendliest large crowd he’d ever seen.
Hampton City Councilman Willie Turner compared Hampton’s opportunity to Vicksburg, Mississippi. He noted, “When they introduced casinos, a lot of people were against it. But they brought in a tax base, the taxes went low and home value went high. They thought it’d be congested, but the congestion came from people who got jobs there. Casinos did a lot for the area. It brought in a lot of good-paying jobs. Sometimes we’re afraid of change because we don’t understand it. We have to give it a chance.”
Atlanta Motor Speedway President Ed Clark said, “We want to construct something our community does not have.” He stated the venue would include a casino, major hotel, convention space, dining options, theme park, indoor/outdoor water park, concert venues, golf skill arena, outdoor adventure course, cinema and high-end night club.
The proposed casino resort possibly would be operated by Foxwoods, a partner of Atlanta Motor Speedway’s parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. Clark noted the speedway is an outstanding location for the casino resort due to its proximity from downtown Atlanta and the Atlanta airport.
Regarding the turnout for the meeting, Clark said, “I’m pleased and shocked with how many people showed up today.”
He reminded attendees many steps are required before the casino could be built, and also cautioned other locations in the state would compete for a gaming license if the legislature approves a proposed constitutional amendment, which would need a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate plus approval from Georgia voters.
Committee Co-chairman state Rep. Alan Powell said the amendment would create an independent gaming commission, whose members would select the license holders.
But a prominent opponent of casino gaming, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, also weighed in, saying, “We have so much going for us in our state that I don’t think we need that in our state, but I think you have a lot of communities like Columbus that have legislators like Calvin Smyre and other good friends of mine. And if it’s going to happen, they want it to happen in their community.
“Part of the problem is if you do one, you are going to have multiple casinos, and I don’t think that’s good for our state.”
