Several seemingly shoo-in ballot measures were shown the door on Election Day last week. Voters in Virginia passed on a plan to develop a casino resort in Richmond. And voters in New Jersey nixed a proposal to permit betting on in-state college athletics.
Richmond Rout
Developers touting an ambitious casino proposal in Richmond were astounded when voters said no to the plan on November 2. Unofficial results showed 51 percent of voters rejected the proposal for the planned ONE Casino + Resort.
Alfred Liggins, CEO of Silver Spring-based media conglomerate Urban One, said he was “extremely disappointed” at the outcome.
The multimillion-dollar development would have included 100,000 square feet of casino space, a luxury hotel, a live theater, and dozens of new restaurants. Proponents said the project would have brought 4,500 construction and resort jobs to the city. It would also have made Liggins the first black majority owner of a casino since the late Don Barden, the first African American casino operator in Las Vegas.
“For the last two years, we have worked so hard to build a large and inclusive tent with our ONE Casino + Resort project,” wrote Liggins in an email to a local TV station. “We had a lot of loyal supporters who worked tirelessly on behalf of this project and for whom we will be eternally grateful.”
Richmond City Councilman Mike Jones was also upset by the vote. “I’m really concerned with the fact that every neighborhood every precinct in the First, the Second, the Third District, they can walk their streets, they have the infrastructure, we don’t have those things,” Jones said. “And so, you know, I am for the Democratic process. That’s what I voted for on council, to send it to the referendum and let the citizens of Richmond decide. But it’s interesting to see a breakdown along racial and neighborhood lines.”
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, a vocal supporter of the casino project, said he respected the will of the voters.
“While I believe this was a $565 million opportunity lost to create well-paying jobs, expand opportunity, keep taxes low and increase revenue to meet the needs of our growing city, I am proud of the transparent and public process we went through to listen to our residents and put this opportunity before our voters,” Stoney said. “From the beginning, we said the people would decide. They have spoken, and we must respect their decision.”
Richmond was the last of five Virginia cities to vote on casino referendums and was the only one to pass on the opportunity. According to WRIC-TV, Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth all passed casino referendums last November with far less opposition.
“The people have spoken,” said Paul Goldman, director of Vote No on RVA Casino. “We decided to try an all-digital advertising strategy in a modern-day David vs. Goliath story. We appealed to the conscience of our city. I am proud to have been part of such an amazing upset.”
Opponents succeeded in delivering their message: that a casino would worsen poverty and lead to gambling addiction.
In other parts of Virginia, four other cities approved casinos by 65 percent or more in referendums.
No to Betting on NJ Teams
In New Jersey, bettors who hoped to wager on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to beat Penn State next year are now officially out of luck. Almost 57 percent of voters in the Garden State rejected a constitutional amendment that would have permitted betting on college teams from New Jersey, according to NorthJersey.com.
More than half the country now allows sports betting. And though New Jersey powered the lawsuit that ultimately overcame the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, the state has some of the strictest rules around college sports betting. By contrast, 13 states have no restrictions at all, according to the American Gaming Association.
New Jersey didn’t include college betting in the original 2011 referendum that approved sports betting due to concerns that student athletes would be coerced to fix or throw games. Since then, the NCAA has allowed college athletes to be paid for endorsements and commercials, which legislators think reduces the chance that gambling could sway their performance.
In other New Jersey news, the CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) used the election to demand that Governor Phil Murphy ban smoking in casinos. Murphy himself was reelected by a wafer-thin margin, but the unexpected defeat of State Senate President Steve Sweeney should make the ban easier to accomplish.
“With Governor Murphy and Senator-elect Joe Polistina winning their races, two of the most outspoken proponents of closing the loophole that allows indoor smoking at Atlantic City casinos will be positioned to act,” said Cynthia Hallett of the ANR.
Iowa, New Hampshire, Texas
Voters in Linn County, Iowa passed a referendum to permit gaming, and made permanent an authorization that first passed in 2013. The measure passed 55 percent to 45 percent, and clears the path for a casino in downtown Cedar Rapids, although the state would still have to give its seal of approval.
There was no organized opposition to the measure. The initiative did not specify a particular location, and plans must be submitted to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC).
Linn County Gaming Association member Anne Parmley told Radio Iowa: “Having the revenues that would be generated by this casino at their disposal to support operations, give them the opportunity to serve more citizens, the needs are expanding.”
Casino developers pushing the measure say they will earmark 8 percent of revenues to area nonprofits, double what the state requires.
Parmley said, “We just want voters to understand what kind of impact those millions of dollars could have on Linn County and our nonprofits, especially considering a lot are really struggling post-pandemic and after the derecho.” However, twice in recent memory the IRGC has prevented a new casino in the city, on the grounds that it would take away revenue from existing gaming facilities.
For the second time in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, voters narrowly rejected a measure to allow Keno 603 games at residents and taverns. The vote came down to just 21 votes: 2,770 opposed, 2,649 in favor.
Nashua, New Hampshire voters, meanwhile, approved a measure to allow sportsbook retail operations in Gate City. A 2019 law allows sports betting in the Granite State, and authorized up to 10 brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. So far, voters in six cities have approved the facilities, and 14 towns approved sportsbooks last year. To date, two sportsbooks have opened, at Seabrook and Manchester.
In Texas, voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 1, which allows charitable raffles at rodeo events of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. Unauthorized raffles are considered illegal in the Lone Star State. Prop. 1 was among eight constitutional amendments approved on Election Day; it was approved by 84 percent of voters.
