The Danville, Virginia city council recently joined Bristol and Portsmouth in passing a resolution supporting a bill in the upcoming legislative session to allow and require a local referendum on building a casino resort those three towns. State Senator Bill Carrico and Delegate Israel O’Quinn will introduce the measure in the 2019 session. It would apply only to those three cities and allow only one casino per location. State Delegate Danny Marshall noted, “Danville is not going to look like the Las Vegas Strip. It would be one casino only.”
The legislation also would establish a gaming tax on casinos, with half the revenue going to the state and the remainder going to the locality, Marshall said. He noted if the legislation becomes law, the Virginia Lottery Board would draft regulations and oversee the casinos. “It’s going to take a lot of due diligence on the state’s part. This is going to be a controversial issue to some people. I trust the voters to make the decision of what’s best for the city of Danville,” Marshall said.
Danville Vice Mayor Lee Vogler said if the legislation passes, Danville could easily attract a developer. “I don’t think we’ll have problems having ones to choose from. It’s the most significant economic development opportunity Danville has seen in my lifetime,” he said.
A study by Chmura Economics and Analytics in Richmond indicated a casino resort including a hotel, restaurants, entertainment and convention space would generate a one-time economic impact of $118.7 million and create 182 jobs. In 2022 it would bring in $12.1 million in local taxes and create 2,534 direct and indirect jobs; in 2028 it would bring in $20.3 million in taxes and create 5,426 direct jobs and 1,408 indirect jobs. In addition, a casino resort in Danville would have a direct and indirect economic impact of $384.8 million in 2022, and $909 million in direct impact and $183 million in indirect impact by 2028.
Mayor Alonzo Jones said the city could use casino tax revenue for education. “Our schools definitely need some work done to our facilities. We wouldn’t want to tax our citizens,” he said.
Marshall said he was contacted in early October by officials at United Company of Bristol, the developers of a proposed $250 million casino at the former Bristol Mall. United Company has hired a team of seven lobbyists and made donations of more than $500,000 to Virginia House and Senate lawmakers.
Danville City Manager Ken Larking said discussions about a possible casino occurred in closed-door meetings later that month. United Company officials met with Danville’s mayor, vice mayor, city manager, city attorney, the economic development director, city council and school board regarding Danville becoming one of the localities in the legislation, Marshall said.
He stated a Danville casino would attract visitors from Greensboro, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Charlotte in North Carolina, plus Lynchburg, Roanoke, Martinsville and other cities in Virginia.
Portsmouth passed a resolution supporting casino legislation in October.
Other gambling legislation expected in the upcoming session includes sports betting bills from state Delegates Chap Petersen, Mark Sickles and Marcus Simon. The bills have similar provisions with the exception of mobile gambling, collegiate sports wagering restrictions and local approval requirements.
The conservative Family Foundation announced it will oppose any legalization of sports wagering.
