Virginia: Petersburg asks General Assembly for the right to hold casino referendum

2023-12-12

United States

Reading time 1:59 min

Petersburg is re-entering the race for hosting Virginia's fifth casino after Richmond voters rejected a second referendum for an entertainment and gaming complex last month. City officials have taken the first steps by asking the General Assembly for the right to hold a voter referendum.

The decision comes amid the rivalry that emerged between Petersburg and Richmond in their pursuit of a casino over recent years. In 2020, officials from Petersburg moved to enter the casino race after Richmond residents narrowly turned down the $565 million ONE Casino + Resort project with a vote of 51% to 49%.

State Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, and Del. Kim Taylor, R-Dinwiddie, leveraged the state's budget proceedings to delay Richmond's subsequent vote until Petersburg could be considered a potential site for a casino.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission concluded in October 2022 that Petersburg could support a casino, either by itself or in competition with one in Richmond, albeit with a diminished size and benefits from two competing casinos within 25 miles of each other, as reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The Cordish Companies, which partnered with Petersburg, made it clear that it did not want to move forward with a casino project if Richmond was allowed a second referendum because it would cannibalize the market.



Rendering for the proposed Richmond casino

Legislators decided in September not to include language in the budget forbidding Richmond from holding a second referendum. That referendum was shot down 58-41 by Richmond voters in a citywide ballot referendum last month. Plans for the project, branded as the Richmond Grand Resort and Casino, called for an entertainment and gaming complex at 2001 Walmsley Blvd. and 4700 Trenton Ave.

In the wake of the Richmond vote, the Petersburg City Council unanimously approved a legislative agenda that included a provision for a casino referendum in Petersburg by November 2025. That also included a request for the General Assembly to allow a casino in a city with a population below 200,000.

The legislative proposal highlights the casino's potential to provide job opportunities for residents, ensuring incomes that surpass the city's current average household earnings of $44,000 per year. It also seeks an estimated 1,800 jobs created along with 1,000 construction jobs.

The state commission’s study estimated that a proposed casino in Petersburg could generate $204 million in net gaming revenue each year, of which Petersburg would receive 6%, or around $12,240,000.

Sen. Morrissey was one of the city’s two champions in the General Assembly during the first casino fight. He has since been defeated by now Senator-elect Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, who will take over the city’s bargaining in the capital. Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham said council members had met Aird and that she was "supportive of our Legislative Agenda as stated," according to meeting minutes from November 21, as reported by the above-mentioned media.