The Danville, Virginia city council unanimously passed a resolution requesting a November referendum on whether a casino should be developed in the city.
If voters approve, Caesars Entertainment has proposed investing $400 million in the casino resort development. Officials said it would create 1,300 jobs paying between $35,000 and $47,000 annually and generate $34 million in annual revenue for Danville.
The proposed casino resort would offer 2,000 slots, 75 table games, 16 poker tables and a sportsbook, plus a 500-room hotel, 35,000-square-foot conference center, 2,500-seat live entertainment venue, restaurants and bars.
A Danville Circuit Court judge must sign the order for a writ of special election by August 14 so the issue will appear on the ballot.
Also in Virginia, an entity associated with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe purchased 12.4 acres in Manchester for $4 million, city property records show. About six months ago the tribe announced plans to build a $350 million casino hotel in the area. A tribal spokesperson said the land could be developed for a casino resort but nothing has been decided.
In the past few years, the Pamunkey Tribe has acquired land throughout Virginia, including 600 acres in New Kent and in Norfolk, where the tribe is planning another casino. Recent legislation allows the tribe to pursue commercial gaming in Norfolk and Richmond if approved by voters in those cities. Norfolk is planning a referendum on casino gambling this November and Richmond is looking to November 2021.
If voters don’t approve casino gambling, the federally recognized tribe can apply to the U.S. Department of the Interior to take the land into trust.
Danville, Richmond, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Bristol were approved by the legislature to build casinos if approved by voters in those cities.
