In Macon-Bibb County, Georgia, authorities are preparing for the day when legalized gambling may be a reality. County officials have already held discussions with casino owners and operators in anticipation of the change in gambling’s status in state law, which many feel could come as soon as next year.
Bills on the docket for Georgia’s 2022 legislative session, which begins in January, will include a number addressing such possibilities as the legalization of casinos, pari-mutuel betting on horse racing and sports betting. A referendum is expected to be called on the matter before the end of the year.
Macon-Bibb County mayor, Lester Miller, will be prepared to welcome the new business into the area, if only to ensure maximum benefit to local residents. “Certainly not anything I’m necessarily advocating for,” Miller told the Center of Collaborative Journalism, “but if it does come to Macon, I’m going to want to know where it’s going to be at, so to have the largest impact that we would need to have.”
In the event that the referendum passes, a casino is expected to go into the site of an old anchor store Macon Mall, which would also see a slew of other developments. The ample room provided at the currently underused location includes space for a companion hotel to the casino as well as an extensive parking lot.
Other amenities complementing the location would be a “Mac Town” restaurant plaza, a 10,000-seat amphitheater for performances, pickleball facilities, and even county offices that are currently paying rent at other locations.
Miller insists that the development would not burden residents with “one additional tax penny.”
While the deal’s details are yet to be finalized, the site’s current owners, Hull Property Group, will donate half of the property to the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority, having joint ownership for $1 a year with the intention of the government owning it outright within six years.
