Casino Plans May Revitalize Historic Atlanta Area

While many online casinos may seem to operate underground, a new land-based casino is being proposed that is literally underground. Dan O'Leary, a Georgia developer who holds a fifty-year lease on Underground Atlanta, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he has proposed to the Georgia Lottery Board a massive redevelopment of the location that would include a casino.

Underground Atlanta is a historic remnant of the city that has traditionally been used to hold retail, bar, and restaurant outlets. But the section has seen better times, and O'Leary would like to renovate the area, spending almost half a billion dollars to build a twenty-nine story hotel, upscaling restaurants and shops, and adding a casino with 5000 video lottery terminal-style slot machines.

Georgia law forbids casinos hosting table games or even poker. But VLTs have been found by courts to be legal where lotteries exist. O'Leary has already made provisional plans for Dover Downs, the Delaware track operators, to run the casino.

One study quoted determined that a 200,000 square-foot casino in Atlanta could bring an economic impact of as much as $1.67 billion a year. Atlanta politicians seemed guardedly optimistic and willing to consider anything that would help bring in new state revenues.

Underground Atlanta was originally constructed during the rebuilding of the city after the Civil War, during the recovery from General Sherman's burning of the city. It became hidden as bridges crossing railroad tracks led merchants to occupy higher locations, leaving the bottom floors for storage. The area was popular during Prohibition as a place for speakeasies and juke joints.

The area was reopened in 1969, but lost its steam in the late Seventies when surrounding counties relaxed local liquor ordinances. The location has striven to attract customers with its retail and restaurant offerings, and laws were changed to give Underground Atlanta certain advantages,, such as extending hours for serving alcohol until 4 a.m., and allowing customers to travel the site with drinks in hand.

Considering its past as a spot for partying and semi-legal activity, and the future Atlanta leaders so desperately want for it, Underground Atlanta is a perfect place to erect a casino.