Caesars and Colonial Downs have confirmed their interest in the project

Virginia: Danville casino plans still on track despite economic downturn

Last month, the Virginia House and Senate approved legislation to allow five cities in Virginia — Danville (image), Bristol, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond — to hold local referendums on whether to allow a casino to operate in those cities.
2020-04-15
Reading time 2:13 min
Danville Vice Mayor said the four companies that have shown interest in opening a casino there have not expressed any intention of reversing course. The coronavirus pandemic has delayed city officials' decision to pick one of the companies, which is now set to be made in a closed council meeting to be held in May.

Danville Vice Mayor Lee Vogler said companies that have shown interest in opening a casino in Danville, Virginia, have not expressed any intention of reversing course, despite the ongoing economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “The very strong interest that was there before is still there,” Vogler said Monday. “We have not heard any indication of less interest than what was previously expressed.”

Caesars Entertainment, one of four casino companies pushing for the rights to land a gaming facility in Danville, Virginia, hasn’t changed plans even though it has temporarily shut down its North American properties during the pandemic.

“Caesars Entertainment intends to pursue a gaming license in Virginia and hopes to build and manage a casino in Danville,” company spokeswoman Chelsea Ryder told the Danville Register & Bee via email Monday.

Colonial Downs still has the city in its sights for its brand of off-track betting in the form of a Rosie’s Gaming Emporium that features slot-like historical horse racing facility. For them, company officials recently confirmed, it’s a question of what kind of shop to set up there — parent company Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, with offices in Ketchum, Idaho and Los Angeles recently pitched to city officials plans to build a casino.

On Monday, Colonial Downs spokesman Mark Hubbard said the pandemic has not stalled plans to bring an entertainment facility to Danville. “We’re awaiting the city’s plans on a casino provider,” he said. “Nothing has slowed any of our plans, currently.” He would not specify whether those plans include a casino or a Rosie’s Gaming Emporium.

In the first week of March, before the coronavirus pandemic triggered a chain of stay-at-home orders and shuttered businesses across the nation, city officials heard presentations from four casino company finalists that responded to a request for proposals to bring a gambling facility there. City officials initially expected to pick a company this month, but the pandemic has delayed that decision, which is now set to be made in a closed council meeting to be held in May, Vogler said.

Danville residents are expected to vote in a November referendum on whether to allow a casino in the city. Last month, the Virginia House and Senate approved legislation to allow five cities in Virginia — Danville, Bristol, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond — to hold local referendums on whether to allow a casino to operate in those cities.

On Saturday, Gov. Ralph Northam proposed an amendment to direct the state’s share of new tax monies on gaming revenues at funding public school construction needs statewide, the Bristol Herald Courier reported.

State lawmakers are scheduled back in Richmond on April 22 for the reconvened session. If they approve the Northam amendments, the legislation becomes law and communities could hold referendums on Nov. 3. If the General Assembly rejects the amendment — to which they cannot make changes — the underlying legislation returns to the governor to either sign or veto.

City Manager Ken Larking said of the amendment: “If anything is coming back to Danville, that would be a positive thing.”

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