The Virginia Senate Finance and Appropriations committee voted 9-7 against state Senator Joe Morrissey’s bill to allow Petersburg voters to hold a referendum on hosting a casino in the city.
The measure also would have prevented Richmond from holding a second referendum within five years. Last year, Richmond voters recently narrowly defeated a proposal for a casino.
A shocked Morrissey said, “I was thunderstruck as to what occurred. It’s all driven by money and the people of Richmond spoke. They said they don’t want it, so like I’ve said many, many times before, what are you going to do?” Regarding Richmond officials, Morrissey commented, “They got theirs, let’s not worry about the other people. And it’s just I find that unseemly, unwarranted, unchristian.”
Morrissey said he’s not giving up on a Petersburg casino. “I am going to be relentless when it comes to getting this casino for Petersburg. The economic impact from a casino in Petersburg would be life changing. This is a transformational moment for those citizens in Petersburg. This city is on the rise and this was the last piece of the puzzle to do that, to get them back to the top,” Morrissey said.
H noted the legislation must still pass in the House and return to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee for another vote.
