Two casino giants made it clear last week that they had their sight set on Georgia.
At a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of Atlanta, MGM Resorts International Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James Murren said his company’s proposed $1 billion-plus destination casino in downtown Atlanta, plus other area gambling venues, could boost economic development for the state. He added casino revenue Talso could contribute to the state’s lottery funded HOPE Scholarships, which have awarded less money in recent years due to growing student demand and tuition and flat revenues.
Citing MGM’s $1.4 billion National Harbor casino resort in Maryland, Murren said, “We only go into markets where we believe we can provide a destination addition to a market. We’re not interested in commodities, we’re not interested in the slot business. We’re interested in the type of resorts that provide a nexus between entertainment, hospitality and gaming.”
Murren said MGM possibly would invest more than $1.4 billion in Georgia if gambling becomes legal, to create “an integrated resort” with a casino, hotel, concert hall, restaurants and retail. He said such a development would create 4,000 jobs and complement, not compete with, Atlanta’s hospitality industry. Murren noted about two-thirds of the company’s revenue comes from non-gaming sources such as events, food and hotel room-nights. And he pointed out Georgians spend $600 million a year at casinos outside the state, according to MGM’s research.
A constitutional amendment to allow up to four casinos, including two in metro Atlanta, failed to gain traction in this year’s legislative session. Both Governor Nathan Deal and House Speaker David Ralston opposed the measure, as well as faith-based groups who are influential at the Capitol. In addition, a recent study by a downtown business group showed gambling may not be the revenue-generator some have indicated.
“This is a tremendously appealing market. Georgia is very vibrant state, a large economy, diverse, it sits literally at the terminus of the entire Southeast. It has a tremendous airport, great corporate base already and it’s surrounded by gaming in one form or another. We’ve been able to do more research since I last saw you about how much money is leaving your state to gamble elsewhere. It’s better than $600 million a year that Georgians are gambling in other states,” Murren said.
He noted MGM’s numerous lobbyists will make the push once again for casino gambling in the upcoming legislative session. Lobbyists for another big name in gaming also will be noticeable at the capitol.
As if enforcing Murren’s views, Wynn Resorts Development of Las Vegas recently hired the Dentons law firm of Atlanta to head its lobbying team in for 2017. Controlled by Steve Wynn, the company operates casinos in Las Vegas and the Macau region of China, and has a casino resort under construction outside Boston.
Dentons lobbyists Jeff Hamling, Ed Lindsey, Amy Odom and Ben Vinson all have registered to represent Wynn at the state and local level.
