In December the DeKalb County, Georgia commission approved a zoning change to allow 23 empty condos and ground-level retail space in two five-story buildings in South DeKalb to become the Panola Slope resort, featuring a “barcade” for adults, said developer Vaughn Irons. He also has applied for a special land use permit allowing Panola Slope to operate 24/7 and serve alcohol until 2 a.m.
Irons said the resort would create 130 jobs and generate more than $46 million in economic impact in the first year, with rental villas, three restaurants, an outdoor entertainment venue, meeting spaces and retail—plus 400 video gambling machines including slots, video poker, a virtual roller coaster and golf and military simulators, offering as prizes vouchers for dinners or on-site lodging.
One of 10 states without a casino, Georgia law does allow cash-operated gaming machines that award prizes that can be redeemed on the premises.
Irons chairs the DeKalb Development Authority and also is chief executive officer at APD Solutions, developer of the condos. For Panola Slope, he’s partnering with Red Alligator LLC , incorporated under the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, which operates the Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville, Louisiana. Marshal Sampson is vice chairman of the tribe as well as chief executive officer of Red Alligator.
DeKalb Commissioner Jeff Rader said the board was unaware of Red Alligator’s Louisiana casino connection when they voted to approve the project. Since then he said he has come to realize, “It looks like they’re in the casino business rather than in the Dave & Buster’s business,” referencing the popular arcades. Former Commissioner Lee May added, “I’ve read through the application, and it’s clear as day they’re asking for virtual coin operated machines. It’s on page 3 of their application that the board of commissioners approved.”
But Irons and Sampson said they do not have plans to open a casino. “I think that’s a ridiculous notion. I’m not a gambling operator. I’m a very concerned citizen of the county.” When asked if the DeKalb development actually would be a casino, Sampson replied, “No! Casinos are illegal in Georgia.”
Irons said sold the land to Red Alligator for $6 million to be able to pay off his earlier investors and be able to start anew with Panola Slope. However, records indicate Irons would have lost the land in a tax sale a few days later, since he was behind about $175,000 in property taxes.
Regarding the development, Irons said, “It’s kind of an adult, high-energy area which will have virtual reality and some other types of games for people to play. We’re going to turn minds, and people are going to find out something different than they believed before.”
But when he was informed of the situation, anti-gambling Governor Nathan Deal said, “I am not in the mood for having anything that is a casino or even comes close to resembling a casino.” He said Panola Slope “sure looked like a casino to me. I’m not sure that without a constitutional amendment the Lottery Commission has the authority to go that far. It’s something we’ll certainly look into and be exploring.”
