Wynn Resorts Bullish on Georgia Casinos, if Legalized

If Georgia lawmakers remove or amend the state’s constitution to allow gambling, Wynn Resorts and Boyd Gaming would be first in line to consider casino locations.

That’s what Christopher Gordon, president of the Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts and the casino operator’s development arm, Wynn Development, told Georgia lawmakers in the state’s House of Representatives study committee meeting on gaming this week. Ryan Soultz, vice president for government affairs at Boyd Gaming — also a Las Vegas-based casino company — told lawmakers they would love to be in Georgia should voters allow it, Bisnow reported.

If the proposal moves out of committee it would still have a steep hurdle to climb: a 2018 effort to legalize gambling at three locations lost steam, and a March effort to send the issue of legalizing sports betting and casinos to a ballot initiative didn’t receive a vote in the legislature.

Despite the setbacks for the industry, the issue is not going away. The March failure was the seventh consecutive year Georgia lawmakers considered legalizing gambling. In January the issue will again be taken up by the legislature and could potentially be sent to voters in November 2026 should it pass the high hurdle of supermajorities in the house and senate.

The reason legislators continue to bring the issue back to the table annually might be because the potential revenue is hard to ignore: Gordon said the economic benefits can’t be questioned, and that Georgia could be a great site to host a casino resort similar to what Wynn opened in 2019 in Massachusetts, Encore Boston Harbor. In that time the $2.6 billion, 3.1 million-square-foot casino contributed $1 billion in gaming taxes to the state. Gordon suggested to Georgia legislators that a casino in the state could employ up to 4,000 workers.

“These things are an engine that you can’t imagine if you build the right ones and you get the right operators,” Gordon said.

Rick Lackey, founder of Real Professionals Network, told lawmakers that areas in Midtown and Downtown Atlanta as well as near the airport would make ideal casino locations. Savannah, located near the Florida border, would also be an enticing spot.

— Eric Weilbacher