{"id":44203,"date":"2017-01-25T14:00:14","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T22:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=44203"},"modified":"2017-01-25T12:30:47","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T20:30:47","slug":"georgia-renews-bid-legalize-casinos-scaled-proposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-renews-bid-legalize-casinos-scaled-proposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Renews Bid to Legalize Casinos with Scaled Down Proposition"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b><\/i>Two Georgia casino bills are expected to be introduced to both chambers of the legislature in Atlanta today.<\/p>\n

\"Georgia
Georgia\u2019s governor, Nathan Deal, has declared himself to be \u201copen to discussions\u201d with casino proponents, suggesting that the new scaled-down proposal of just two casinos might have legs in the state legislature. (Image: Online Athens)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

State Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) and State Representative Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) have almost identical legislation and high hopes to authorize two casinos in Georgia, one in the Metro Atlanta area and another in a smaller city, possibly Savannah or Columbus.<\/p>\n

Developers would need to guarantee investment of at least $2 billion in the Atlanta<\/a> resort and a minimum of $450 million in the secondary resort.<\/p>\n

Governor Deal Open to Discussion<\/b><\/h2>\n

The legislation has a better chance than last year\u2019s ill-fated casino bill, largely because it proposes fewer casinos, two as opposed to five, and would offer a greater percentage of tax revenue to HOPE scholarship funding.<\/p>\n

There is also an indication that the scaled down proposition may be more palatable to Governor Nathan Deal. A longtime casino opponent, Deal says he is willing “to be keep the discussion going” with casino supporters.<\/p>\n

\n

“There are certain markers that I have laid,\u201d Deal told WXIA news. \u201cWe need to be absolutely certain that if a casino bill passes, it doesn\u2019t adversely impact the lottery program of this state.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Public Support <\/b><\/h2>\n

If the bill does gain the support of the legislature it needs to pass (and that\u2019s a big \u201cif\u201d) voters would be asked, in November 2018, whether they want to change the state constitution to permit casino gambling<\/a>. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Poll results published earlier this month by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggested the public support is there. It found that 56 percent of registered voters supported the idea, with only 38 percent opposed. The casino question was asked in plain language among several other questions related to political and social topics relevant to Georgia voters.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis is about creating 5,000 jobs in Atlanta and thousands of jobs in a secondary market,” said Senator Beach. \u201cSo, this is about job creation, tourism and then taking those dollars and reinvesting it in education. Anytime you can create jobs and invest in education, I\u2019m all for that.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The bill would tax casino gambling revenues at 20 percent. Thirty percent of funds raised would go the creation of a new needs-based college scholarship and the rest would to the HOPE scholarship and the state\u2019s pre-kindergarten program.<\/p>\n

Despite lingering hostility from many in the legislature and outright opposition from influential faith-based groups and anti-gambling crusaders in the state, Stephens is optimistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve got a very, very good chance of getting this thing through,\u201d he told the Associated Press, Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two Georgia casino bills are expected to be introduced to both chambers of the legislature in Atlanta today. State Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) and State Representative Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) have almost identical legislation and high hopes to authorize two casinos in Georgia, one in the Metro Atlanta area and another in a smaller city, possibly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":44209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGeorgia Renews Bid to Legalize Casinos with Scaled Down Proposition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two Georgia casino bills are expected Wednesday and there\u2019s a suggestion they may have better odds than last year\u2019s.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Georgia Renews Bid to Legalize Casinos with Scaled Down Proposition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two Georgia casino bills are expected Wednesday and there\u2019s a suggestion they may have better odds than last year\u2019s.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-renews-bid-legalize-casinos-scaled-proposition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-25T22:00:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-25T20:30:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/AP110909067198_2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-renews-bid-legalize-casinos-scaled-proposition\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-renews-bid-legalize-casinos-scaled-proposition\/\",\"name\":\"Georgia Renews Bid to Legalize Casinos with Scaled Down Proposition\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-renews-bid-legalize-casinos-scaled-proposition\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-renews-bid-legalize-casinos-scaled-proposition\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/AP110909067198_2-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-25T22:00:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-25T20:30:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Two Georgia casino bills are expected Wednesday and there\u2019s a suggestion they may have better odds than last year\u2019s.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-renews-bid-legalize-casinos-scaled-proposition\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-renews-bid-legalize-casinos-scaled-proposition\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-renews-bid-legalize-casinos-scaled-proposition\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/AP110909067198_2-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/AP110909067198_2-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1700,\"caption\":\"Georgia\u2019s governor, Nathan Deal, has declared himself to be \u201copen to discussions\u201d with casino proponents, suggesting that the new scaled-down proposal of just two casinos might have legs in the state legislature. 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