Casinos near Atlanta, Georgia

I'll be heading to Atlanta tomorrow with my wife for a week long conference that she has down there. She'll be in meetings all day for most of the week so I will have a lot of down time. Aside from spending all day on the WizardofVegas forum, it would be cool to play Craps or Poker. I have been searching online but have not been able to locate any Casinos within a 3 hour driving radius from Atlanta. Where is a day trip emergency casino junket when you need one? I digress....

Does anyone know any decent casinos with table games (Craps, Poker) within a reasonable driving distance of the Atlanta area?

Harrahs Cherokee is about 2 1/2 hours north in North Carolina. A very beautiful drive, but be sure to obey the speed limits, there is usually strict enforcement.
But you are out of luck for craps or poker with real dice or cards. They have recently been approved for real "Las Vegas Style" table games, but I don't know if they have started yet. The last time I was there (over a year ago) they only had electronic craps and the poker room had tables with computer screens and you were dealt electronically. The casino has recently been expanded and is very nice, but can get incrediby smoky.
We live just north of Atlanta and head to Biloxi for real casinos. It is about a 6 hour drive for us.
Let us know if you go and give us a report on the status of their implementation of the new games.

Quote: CrapsForever

Does anyone know any decent casinos with table games (Craps, Poker) within a reasonable driving distance of the Atlanta area?

I think your best bets are:

Diamond Casino in Savannah (it's a day-cruise casino boat)
Harrah's Cherokee near Whittier, NC

Harrah's is about 3 hours north of Atlanta, Savannah is about 4 hours east of Atlanta. Both facilities have poker and BJ, only the Diamond has craps.

Quote: timberjim

We live just north of Atlanta and head to Biloxi for real casinos.

Thanks. I'll probably have to skip gambling on this trip. I need a real land based casino with real cards & dice. 6 hours is way too long to drive for a day trip.

Any recommendations for restaurants in Atlanta particularly Soul Food? I have never been to Atlanta before so I have no idea of where to go for food, entertainment, etc.

Go west young man! Head on over to Mississippi for some real casinos! (I know - next time)

Quote: CrapsForever

Any recommendations for restaurants in Atlanta particularly Soul Food? I have never been to Atlanta before so I have no idea of where to go for food, entertainment, etc.

Atlanta Soul Food lists a lot of places. Downtown is very nice, but avoid the Underground as overpriced.

I am familiar with some places to the West of Downtown. Can you be more specific as to your location?

Quote: timberjim

Harrahs Cherokee is about 2 1/2 hours north in North Carolina. A very beautiful drive, but be sure to obey the speed limits, there is usually strict enforcement.
But you are out of luck for craps or poker with real dice or cards. They have recently been approved for real "Las Vegas Style" table games, but I don't know if they have started yet. The last time I was there (over a year ago) they only had electronic craps and the poker room had tables with computer screens and you were dealt electronically.

They have not been approved for table games yet. The governor and the tribe have come to an agreement, but that agreement must be approved by the state legislature, which it has not done, and there does not appear to be support for it.

Quote: CrapsForever

Any recommendations for restaurants in Atlanta particularly Soul Food? I have never been to Atlanta before so I have no idea of where to go for food, entertainment, etc.

What part of Atlanta are you staying in? The hotel you are staying at will probably be able to reccomend some good close by restaurants (ask the maids or bellhops). I'm not a club person, so I can't make any suggestions on that end. If you like this kind of thing, I always take newcomers to the Georgia Aquarium (world class), the Atlanta Zoo and Stone Mountain Park. If you go to the Zoo, also visit the Cyclorama which is just outside the entrance. The Cyclorama is the worlds largest oil painting and diorama that depicts the Battle of Atlanta. Full info on these is available online. Have fun.

Quote: pacomartin

Atlanta Soul Food lists a lot of places. Downtown is very nice, but avoid the Underground as overpriced.

I am familiar with some places to the West of Downtown. Can you be more specific as to your location?

We will be staying downtown Atlanta.

Shouldn't there be a Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta?

Quote: Nareed

Shouldn't there be a Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta?

Right next to the Georgia Aquarium. I think you can get a combined ticket for both venues.

Quote: timberjim

Right next to the Georgia Aquarium. I think you can get a combined ticket for both venues.

I'm glad you posted that. I was right on the verge of posting info about the old location, close to Underground Atlanta. Geezers like me tend to be out of date. They built/opened the new location probably five years ago, and I have never been to that one.

Thank you all for the information regarding things to do in Atlanta.

My wife and I visited the Georgia Aquarium; spectacular! We also visited Buckhead; did some shopping there and looked at some Huge Houses sitting on Acres. We ate some great soul food at Gladys Knights' Chicken & Waffle and Busy Bee. I also caught the highly competitive Hawks vs Knicks game at the Philips Arena.

One thing I like about Atlanta is the ease of driving and getting anywhere we wanted from downtown (where we were staying) within 15 minutes.