Fulton Commissioner Robb Pitts wants to replace Turner Field with, you guessed it, a casino

• PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOEFF DAVIS AND BROOKE HATFIELD/CL FILE
• HIGH ROLLER: Fulton Commissioner Robb Pitts is a leading advocate of casino gaming in Georgia.

The Atlanta Braves have already started packing for Cobb County. With the way team officials and county commissioners are talking, the final approval of $300 million in public funding seems increasingly imminent. If the ball club does in fact leave southeast Atlanta, Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts has one idea for redevelopment in the area adjacent to Turner Field: Casino!

Pitts is no stranger to gambling advocacy. He’s remained an outspoken champion of crap-shooting, roulette-spinning, and card-dealing establishments dating back to his days as Atlanta City Council president. In 2009, he told CL he wanted to transform Underground Atlanta into a gambling wonderland filled with video lottery terminals - VLTs for short. Now he’s making his case for computerized blackjack, poker, and slots should the Braves leave the city.

Yesterday afternoon, Pitts told 11 Alive:

I say stop crying. Let’s see this as an opportunity and take advantage of it. Roll up our sleeves; let’s get to work, if in fact it’s a done deal.

Some people have called me and said ‘Wouldn’t this be a great spot for a casino one day in Atlanta?’ And the answer to that is, yes.

I’ll be honest with you. The handwriting was on the wall for years. We’ve known the fan base was north, and it’s only because Ted Turner insisted that the Braves remain in downtown Atlanta that they did for years.

Pitts thinks there’s a chance - a tiny one - that the Braves will stay at Turner Field. But if not, he wants Atlanta residents to double down on digital hands like nobody’s business.