In Virginia, identical bills authorizing Petersburg to host a casino resort advanced in committees in both the state Senate and House of Delegates. The measures also would deny Richmond a second chance at a casino resort, which voters there rejected by a slim margin in November 2021.
Senate Bill 780, sponsored by state Senator Joe Morrissey, and House Bill 1373, sponsored by state Del. Kim Taylor, would authorize a voter referendum in Petersburg in November to approve the Cordish Companies’ $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia, which the city has already approved.
The venue would be built in several phases, featuring a casino, hotel, pool, live events center and multiple dining options. It would create approximately 4,000 jobs, analysts said. Petersburg City Manager March Altman said, “The time is now for the city to secure the financial stability that will enable our city to address the capital and social needs that have challenged Petersburg for decades.”
Legislation passed in 2020 allowed five cities—Bristol, Portsmouth, Richmond, Norfolk and Danville—to host casino resorts. All but Richmond passed voter referendums and casinos already are operating in Bristol and Portsmouth. Petersburg launched its campaign for a casino soon after the Richmond referendum failed. The proposed legislation would make Petersburg the fifth city allowed to host a casino in the state.
The measure reads, “When an eligible host city is located within 25 miles of another eligible host city, the governing body of any such city that holds a local referendum on the question of whether casino gaming should be permitted in such city that subsequently fails, shall be prohibited from holding another local referendum on the same question until the other eligible host city has had a reasonable opportunity, not to exceed the date of the 2023 regular general election.”
Specifically, “another eligible host city” means Richmond, so if the measure passes, Richmond would be prohibited from holding a re-vote until after Petersburg holds its own casino referendum. Petersburg and Richmond are 23 miles apart.
The Richmond City Council and Mayor Levar Stoney want to hold a second referendum; they claim that the proposed $565 million One Casino + Resort was the victim of misinformation. Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, which would have run the One Casino, has since been sold to Churchill Downs Inc. Officials there have said they would support another effort to open a casino in Richmond.
A Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission study indicated having casinos in both Richmond and Petersburg would be an economic boost to central Virginia. However, Petersburg officials are strongly opposed to a casino in both cities, and Cordish officials previously stated the company would pull out of the Petersburg proposal if both cities hosted a casino.
In other legislative news, a move to designate Fairfax County as a qualified casino location ended shortly after it began. State Senator David Marsden and state Del. Wren Williams had filed legislation on the final day of the 2023 legislative session to allow Fairfax to hold a casino referendum.
Marsden acknowledged the chances of that happening were slim and the bill was pulled five days after being introduced. Marsden said the issue is more likely to move forward during the 2024 legislative session.
