A subcommittee of the Virginia Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology recently voted to forward to the full committee SB 628, which would replace Richmond with Petersburg as a casino host city if a voter referendum passes.
The bill does not specifically name Petersburg, but establishes requirements that would fit the city, such as removing the minimum 200,000-population provision and lowering the tax-exempted real-estate property tax floor rate in 2017 and the poverty rate in 2019.
The bill also requires the host city to have an unemployment rate of at least 13 percent in 2020, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data; in 2020, Petersburg’s unemployment rate was 21.1 percent.
Richmond voters twice rejected the $562 million Richmond Grand Resort & Casino. The referendum lost by 1500 votes in November 2021, and by 61 percent last November. The day after the first loss, former state Senator Joe Morrissey launched an unsuccessful campaign to lure a casino to Petersburg. Morrissey was defeated in last June’s Democratic primary by then-state Del. Lashrecse Aird, who won the general election to the state Senate in November and is one of the current sponsors of SB 628. Aird noted, “Petersburg needs a transformative economic development opportunity to generate immediate revenue and provide long-term benefits.”
The bill’s other sponsor is state Senator Louise Lucas, chairman of the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee. She previously worked against the Petersburg effort but told the Progress-Index the main reason was Morrissey’s involvement.
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott told the Progress-Index the Petersburg campaign “had the wrong people leading it. I think right now, the right people are based in the community who really care and don’t bring politics in. It’s an economic development opportunity, it’s a job-growth opportunity.
“I think they had people coming in wanting it to do more with politics. Some of these people were focused more on photo ops, and being called out in speeches and being elevated. They get in the way and got in the way of progress for the city.”
Scott added he would “work with anybody to get a good thing done.” He said a casino would bring economic benefit to Petersburg like Rivers Casino in Portsmouth. That casino, which celebrated its 1-year anniversary on January 23, generated $23.85 million in gaming tax revenue for the state last December, beating Virginia’s other two operating casinos.
Scott said he hoped “if Petersburg wants a casino, if the people want to do it, they should be able to do it. But it has to come from the people who represent them here that want to do it and has to have the right leadership to get it done.”
The subcommittee also discussed removing Richmond as a casino host city. State Senator Bryce Reeve’s SB 346 would block a city from holding a second casino referendum within three years after a referendum fails.
More recently, the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee voted 10-4 with one abstention to move SB 675 to the Senate Finance Committee. The bill, sponsored by state Senator Dave Marsden, would add Tyson in Fairfax County as the state’s sixth casino host if voters pass a referendum; Reston was removed as a potential site due to opposition by residents.
The bill also requires the casino to be located within a quarter-mile of an existing Metro station on the Silver Line, part of a mixed-use development and outside of the Capital Beltway (I-495). Although the legislation doesn’t include a specific location, Marsden said developer Comstock is considering the former Aston Martin and Bentley dealership near the Spring Hill Metro station for an entertainment complex with a casino, concert venue and conference center.
Marsden said casino tax revenue could help “resurrect Fairfax County’s economy,” primarily dependent on a sluggish office market. He added locating a casino on the Silver Line would make it accessible to visitors to D.C., Maryland and Loudoun County.
He told the Tysons Reporter, “It’s actually closer than MGM National Harbor. It would be easy for people to come, and we’re also not just envisioning a casino here. What we’re talking about is a conference center that does not exist in Fairfax County. We’re also talking about a hotel and concert venue.”
State Senator Jennifer Carroll Foy said she would support the legislation to authorize a referendum to give local voters a voice. She said, “If people in this area don’t want a casino, they will vote in the negative.”
Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Julie Koons told committee members the proposed development could “contribute an estimated $2 billion to the region and would bring thousands of new jobs to the county.”
Several subcommittee members said they had received “hundreds” of calls, letters and emails from local residents and groups urging lawmakers to reject Marsden’s bill. State Senator Adam Ebbin told the Reporter after meeting with the “proponents of this arrangement,” he believes “a casino could be a real opportunity in Fairfax County. What I saw of it, it looked like it could be a good location. I’m not going to be comfortable supporting it without the local government more actively involved.”
Other topics discussed in the subcommittee included skill games, sports betting and horse racing.
