Atlanta, Buffalo look at allowing casinos

John Wilen

Monday, Dec. 14, 1998 | 11:39 a.m.

An Atlanta City Council member is pushing for a study on whether to legalize casino gambling in Georgia and Atlanta -- one of the largest cities in the South.

Officials in Buffalo, N.Y., meantime, are trying to lure a Seneca Nation casino to their city. A recent study found Buffalo can support a downtown casino that would attract 6 million visitors spending more than $420 million annually. The Senecas are also looking at building a casino at Niagara Falls, N.Y.

The mayor of Buffalo and the city's economic development interests are pushing for a casino there. But analysts are skeptical of the Atlanta proposal, with one saying Georgia is too conservative to allow casinos.

"Hell may freeze over before there are casinos in downtown Atlanta," said Jason Ader, an analyst with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.

"I don't think it's going to be a viable option," added Charlie Battle, president of Central Atlanta Progress, an economic development corporation charged with revitalizing central Atlanta.

Battle said recent Atlanta newspaper reports that a commission was being established to consider casino gambling at Underground Atlanta -- a major downtown retail complex -- were misleading.

"I don't think it's anything that's targeted at Underground Atlanta," said Battle.

Atlanta City Councilman Jim Mattox wants a state commission established to study the legalization of casino gambling. He was the driving force behind a recent city council resolution creating a city commission to study possible sites for gambling in Atlanta, and a separate resolution asking state lawmakers to form a two-year commission to study the legalization of gambling in Georgia.

Georgians approved a state lottery in 1992 that has since raised $2.4 billion for state schools. But other forms of gambling are banned.

Battle said the moves to study the issue are a reaction to legalized gambling in neighboring states. Video poker is legal in South Carolina, and Alabama allows pari-mutuel betting and wagering on greyhound racing. Though neither South Carolina nor Alabama has a lottery, both states recently elected governors who ran on pro-lottery platforms.

Battle's skepticism was echoed by gaming analysts who characterized Georgia as just the latest of many states to look into casino gambling.

"Gaming's always looked at," said Bruce Turner, an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney.

But Atlanta is not likely to see casino gambling anytime soon, he said.

"I would be very, very surprised," said Turner. "It's interesting and something to look out for but nothing that's going to happen any time soon."

"It sounds a little suspect," said Andrew Zarnett, an analyst at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. "If it was to come it would take forever, at least a long time."

Ader said his Atlanta sources tell him that Georgia's conservative political establishment will never allow casino gambling in the state.