Third vote unlikely for Richmond casinos, but Virginia demands guarantees
In November, Richmond voters rejected a casino proposal for the second time in a local referendum. While it seems unlikely that Virginia's capital city council will initiate a third referendum on the gaming resort project, especially after voters last year were more opposed to opening a casino than the first vote in 2021, two state lawmakers are hoping to prevent city officials from doing so Casino privileges.
Virginia lawmakers in 2020 authorized five cities including Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Bristol and Danville to consider adding casinos. The legislation provides specific details on how each city can qualify.
The 2020 law does not specify the name of the city, but instead qualifies it through detailed statutory language.
The 2020 bill states that eligible host cities include “any city with a population of more than 200,000 residents, based on the 2018 population estimate from the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, which accounts for at least 24% of the estimate, according to the Virginia Department of Revenue According to the annual report for fiscal year 2018, all properties in the city are exempt from local property taxes, and according to U.S. Census data, Richmond's poverty rate was at least 24 percent in 2017.
Law to End Richmond Casino Referendum
State Del. Betsy Carr (D-Richmond) introduced legislation this week that would remove the language from Virginia's law legalizing commercial casinos. Meanwhile, Del. Michael Jones (D-Richmond) has introduced legislation that would prohibit qualified casino host cities from holding multiple referendums.
All cities except Richmond held individual referendums to approve their casinos. While Carr and Jones work to stop Richmond from asking voters to approve casinos for a third time, lawmakers in other parts of the state have filed legislation to gain casino referendum privileges.
Petersburg has expressed interest in becoming a casino site since the first Richmond casino vote failed. St. Petersburg is located approximately 25 miles south of the state capital.
State Sen. Louis Lucas (D-Portsmouth) is spearheading the development of a St. Petersburg casino in 2024. Lucas, nicknamed the "Casino Lady" for her years of campaigning to allow Las Vegas-style gambling, is an influential lawmaker who has served in the capital, Richmond, since 1992. She has served as President Pro Tempore of the Senate since January 2020.
State Sen. David Marsden (D-Fairfax) has drafted legislation that would allow Tysons in Fairfax County to become a commercial casino host. He believes casinos in Northern Virginia would generate significant tax revenue for the state and keep within the commonwealth the roughly $100 million Northern Virginia loses to casinos in neighboring Maryland.
Richmond Casino Conclusion?
Richmonders narrowly defeated their proposed casino in 2021, 51% to 49%. The project is called ONE Casino + Resort.
Undeterred, the Richmond City Council and Mayor Levar Stoney (D) held a second referendum, hoping to highlight the benefits the resort would bring to the capital city through a more coordinated public campaign , thus producing different results.
The Richmond government is once again partnering with Urban One, a media group tailored specifically for the Black community. The Richmond Grand Resort & Casino (the project is named for its planning partnership with Churchill Downs) has launched a campaign called "Richmond Wins, Vote Yes."
In the days leading up to the vote, some comments by City One executives and broadcasters sparked controversy. City One founder Cathy Hughes brought race into the discussion by claiming that opponents of the casino were opponents of the black community.
Don't forget, they don't see you as a human being," Hughes said on a radio show produced by City One. "Even if you have a house like them, a car like them, and your If your children go to the same school, they will also treat you as N. "
Radio host Preston Brown later called one of the casino's biggest opponents, political activist Paul Goodman, "a white Jew with a Judah background." Richmond Casino 2023 was defeated 58%-42% of the vote.
Read also:
- U.S. cities with the most Swifties per capita
- Blackjack Casino Advantage: How to Beat the Odds
- Football 101: What is relegation in football?
- $300,000 healthcare fraud leads to fraudulent physical therapist being ripped off at casino
Source: www.casino.org
