Slots are Coming to Atmore

Slots are coming to Atmore. Where? Atmore, Alabama, where small town is personified. Yet, they are about to undergo a change that those in this small town cannot begin to envision – they are getting slots.

The town has a total of roughly 7,600 residents, and when you drive the streets of this town you see the local hangouts, you see the places that people congregate to talk about the people who just don’t happen to be there at the moment. These are the places that talk about the fact that someone or something new is coming to town, and now that talk has turned to slots.

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is bringing slots to this tiny town, and not everyone is happy about it. Some residents say that it is about time something new happened around here, but many say that this kind of new is not the kind of new they need. They have started construction already, so it is only a matter of time before the slots have an actual home.

They are actually bringing in electronic bingo machines, but those that live there say that it doesn’t make a difference. They look like slots, they sound like slots, and as far as they are concerned, they are slots.

They are building a $250 million, 16 story bingo palace that will bring with it slots and all the traffic and mayhem that go along with them. They are building a “destination” not just a slots casino, and that is what has so many residents worried. They say that their little town can’t support that kind of development; that they would have to grow to accommodate it and that is something they aren’t really keen on.

Others say that the slots will bring with them much needed jobs, and not just that, but good paying jobs as well. They say that many residents have to leave town to get work and that many of their young leave for work and don’t come back. They think that if there were jobs available many of them might stay and invest in their own community, instead of setting up shop elsewhere. And they think slots are just the thing to do that.






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