Legislation would allow Petersburg casino vote; delay Richmond
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Legislation pre-filed with the Virginia General Assembly seeks to allow the city of Petersburg to conduct a casino referendum and would temporarily delay Richmond from holding a second vote.
House Bill 1373 and Senate Bill 780 would add Petersburg to the list of Virginia cities eligible to conduct a public referendum regarding placement of one casino in the city limits of each.
The pertinent language provides that when an eligible host city is located within 25 miles of another eligible host city — as Petersburg and Richmond are — the governing body of the city a referendum fails “shall be prohibited from holding another local referendum on the same question until the other eligible host city has had a reasonable opportunity” to hold a referendum.
It would not exceed the date of the November 2023 general election unless a court sets an alternative date.
Prior legislation specified only five cities, including Richmond, could have one casino if a majority of its voters approved. Residents of four — Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth —overwhelmingly approved casinos in 2020.
In 2021, Richmond voters narrowly defeated the casino referendum. Earlier this year Richmond got a court order to place a second referendum on the November 2022 ballot, then backed away after the General Assembly approved a budget that would block that vote until November 2023.
State lawmakers also sought and received a Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission study regarding a possible Petersburg casino and whether casinos in Petersburg and Richmond could both be profitable.
Conducted by the Innovation Group, the study forecasts the Petersburg casino could successfully operate with 1,700 slot machines, 70 table games and a sportsbook. It estimated a Petersburg-only casino would generate more than $200 million annually in net gaming revenue.
The study also predicts casinos in both cities could be financially viable, despite being separated by about 25 miles.
With both, it suggests Petersburg would be smaller — 1,300 slots, 55 table games — and generate $140 million annually, while a larger Richmond casino is forecast to generate $249 million annually in net gaming revenue.
It further estimates a Petersburg casino would generate $24.6 million in state gaming tax revenues and $12 million in local taxes. If both casinos were authorized, the study projects a combined $49 million in state tax revenues, $14.9 million in local taxes for Richmond and $8.4 million in local taxes for Petersburg.
City officials in Richmond remain committed to One Casino group headed by Urban One, a Maryland-based media conglomerate. The original group included Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, whose holdings included the Colonial Downs race track in New Kent and the series of Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums.
However on Nov. 1, Churchill Downs Inc., owners of the Kentucky Derby and other casino and gaming interests, completed its acquisition of all of P2E’s holdings. In announcing the deal, Churchill Downs noted that it gained the development rights to four opportunities in Virginia including “P2E’s ongoing effort, in partnership with Urban One, to develop ONE Casino + Resort, a $565 million destination casino in Richmond, Virginia.”
Of the state’s four approved casino projects, the temporary Bristol Casino opened in July, with the full Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is expected to open in mid-2024.
Rivers Casino Portsmouth is scheduled to open in January 2023 with 1,448 slot machines, 57 table games and 24 poker tables in a dedicated poker room.
Casinos in Norfolk and Danville are now expected to open in 2024.
