An anonymous group of investors seeks to legalize gaming in the District of Columbia with the goal of opening a casino in Anacostia that would offer poker, blackjack and other card games.
The district’s voters will get a chance to vote on the “Limited Gaming Initiative of 2016,” which, if passed would authorize three properties in downtown Anacostia to be converted into a 9,000 square foot casino. Only card games would be permitted, no slot machines would be allowed.
Proceeds from the operation would go to local education and the Housing Production Trust Fund.
The ballot measure is being pushed by Citizens Committee in Support of the Limited Gaming Initiative of 2016, whose spokesman Barry E. Jerrels noted last week that Maryland has opened a casino in nearby Prince George’s County.
“It’s about job training, real jobs, new revenue for the city, [and an] elevated regulated gaming experience for visitors. Our goal is to target the visiting population of the District,” he said.
Before the ballot measure goes to the ballot, the supporters must collect 25,000 signatures from D.C. register voters.
Jerrels won’t say who is behind the effort, although the wording of the initiative is similar to one that he carried in 2006 that was supported by gambling promoter Shawn A. Scott, who lived in the Virgin Islands at the time. Scott was fined about $600,000 for allegedly submitting fraudulent signatures.
