The U.S. state of Georgia is gearing up for a fight to decide gambling’s future there. The fight will see titans battle for the hearts, minds, and possibly pocketbooks (political campaigns) of lawmakers in the state. Although a grassroots organization or two will lend their voices to their side of the debates, the fight will become a display of the shadowy side of internal American politics – a landscape where money and power are leveraged, ears and arms bent, and trade-offs made – not always in the best interests of the citizens who are supposed to be represented in the state capital.
According to the Atlanta Journal, so far at least 21 lobbyists have registered with the Georgia ethics commission to influence politician’s votes. 14 of those wer…