Richmond Councilmember Not Ready to Fold on City Casino, Seeks 2022 Referendum

Richmond voters made their voices heard inwards November when they rejected a proposed commercial-grade cassino evolution inward the Virginia capital. But a urban center functionary believes residents should nonetheless live asked once again about the issue.

Urban One and Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E)’s proposed $565 1000000 project, dubbed ONE Casino + Resort, was selected earlier this twelvemonth past the City of capital of Virginia as its preferred cassino development. capital of Virginia is ace of quintuplet cities that qualified to count a gaming development under Virginia’s commercial-grade gaming legislation, passed in 2020.

But lowest month, a little more than 51 percent of Richmond voters rejected ONE Casino. capital of Virginia was the only when casino qualifier of the five to opt against a gaming undertaking.

Richmond City Councilmember Reva Trammel believes a second election on the gaming matter should follow held during the 2022 midterms.

This is the set where it [casino] should hold been, where it needs to come in back,” Trammel told 8News recently.

Trammel represents the 8th elector district, where ONE Casino was targeted. While Urban One and P2E haven’t hinted whether they would follow undecided to a indorse local referendum, a res publica senator in Old Dominion State plans to city block such a potency voting from occurring.

State Legislative Effort

There are opponents to Trammel’s travail to hold up another cassino referendum inwards Richmond. State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-16th District), whose dominion includes the Greater capital of Virginia region, is planning to introduce statute law in the VA uppercase that would impede a 2d gaming referendum in the city.

Morrissey’s bill, if passed and signed past the governor, would bar Richmond from asking city residents near gaming for a lower limit of Phoebe years.

We make to abide by the popular vote,” Morrissey declared.

The nation senator likened Trammel’s efforts to a politico narrowly losing an election and demanding another balloting the following year. Morrissey stated that another capital of Virginia casino referendum would spell against the democratic process.

Morrissey’s capital of Virginia gaming eyeshade mightiness non follow the only slice of legislating introduced inward the State Capitol Building regarding casino efforts in the cap region. Officials inwards nearby Petersburg say they would fain receive ONE Casino + Resort. But doing so would require state lawmakers and the regulator to reserve gaming to come to a little townsfolk that’s placed around 20 miles south of Richmond.

Prior to the November election, Urban One CEO Alfred Liggins said the society would explore other locations for the casino projection should the Richmond voting fail.

“If it doesn’t passing game inwards the metropolis of Richmond, i trust that the General Assembly testament at long last appear to put it inwards a locality inward and around capital of Virginia inwards Central Old Dominion inward one of the outlying counties that does need it. i do not trust that the General Assembly and the governor testament want to go forth Central Old Dominion without a gaming opportunity,” Liggins opined.

P2E Losing Streak

It’s been a unsatisfying few weeks for Peninsula Pacific Entertainment. type A small to a greater extent than a month after Richmond voters denied the company and Urban One accounting entry to the Old Dominion State capital, P2E suffered a similar defeat in Louisiana.

This yesteryear weekend, voters inwards Slidell, La., said no more to P2E’s wishes to establish a $325 trillion cassino holiday resort on Lake Pontchartrain, some 20 miles northeast of New Orleans. Peninsula Pacific was wishing to relocate its gaming operations from Bossier City to Slidell. P2E permanently unsympathetic its DiamondJacks Casino in Bossier City lowest year.

In Virginia, however, P2E is still invested inward the state, despite the Richmond rejection. P2E owns and operates the Colonial Downs Racetrack and Rosie’s Gaming Emporium. Rosie’s additionally has historical Equus caballus racing (HHR) gaming and PointsBet sports betting locations inward Richmond, Vinton, Hampton, Dumfries, and Collinsville.

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