Mayor Reed open to listening to casino proposals

If you would like to go downtown instead of out of town to wager money at a casino, well the door of opposition has a crack in it.

The mayor of Atlanta told reporters he would listen to proposals from gambling firms even though he personally doesn't like the idea.

"It would be fiscal malpractice not to listen to them," Kasim Reed said, during a wide-ranging press conference.

The casino idea has reopened the debate about the future of Turner Field. Reed publicly praised one plan from Georgia State to put facilities on the land -- some 86 acres in all.

There seems to be momentum, like never before in Georgia, to allow the gaming houses.

MGM has already announced it would be willing to invest in excess of one billion dollars for a location, also downtown near the Georgia Dome. 

Within three days, Reed said, he heard from two national companies and one international firm whose proposed projects are so large he will come to the table and hear them out.

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