The percentages of Petersburg, Va., asking residents a couple of on line casino in November improved this week. That’s after laws to designate the city as a on line casino host sailed by way of the state Senate.
Downtown Petersburg has seen higher days, however state and native authorities officers consider betting on a on line casino resort may reinvigorate the Virginia city. Laws to qualify Petersburg for a on line casino handed the Virginia Senate this week. (Picture: The Progress-Index)
After fielding unanimous assist from the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee with a 15-0 vote on Tuesday, Senate Invoice 628 moved to the chamber ground. On Wednesday, the complete Senate voted 40-0 to approve the laws.
Authored by highly effective Senate President Professional Tempore Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) and Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D-Petersburg), SB 628 seeks to amend Virginia’s checklist of eligible on line casino host places to incorporate Petersburg. With the Senate’s blessing, the statute heads to the Home of Delegates for additional consideration.
The percentages are good that Lucas and Aird’s invoice will discover comparable assist within the decrease chamber and transfer to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R) desk. The governor hasn’t explicitly stated whether or not he’s keen to broaden business playing to Petersburg, however political insiders consider he’ll signal the bipartisan measure.
Petersburg Victory at Final
State efforts to qualify Petersburg for on line casino consideration started quickly after Richmond voters narrowly rejected a proposed on line casino resort throughout the November 2021 election. Then-state Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Petersburg) rallied to maneuver the on line casino allow 25 miles south of the capital metropolis to Petersburg, however his efforts had been met with a lot resistance.
Richmond officers opposed Morrissey’s effort in hopes {that a} second referendum would tip the result in favor of a on line casino endeavor. Lucas, who steadily butted heads with Morrissey, opposed permitting Petersburg to ponder a gaming vacation spot.
“I say we begin with these 4 and go from there,” Lucas stated a yr in the past this month about voters in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Danville, and Bristol approving their casinos.
After Aird ousted Morrissey from workplace, and Richmonders extra strongly shot down the second referendum, Lucas modified her stance. Together with designating Petersburg as a on line casino host, SB 628 would additionally stop cities from conducting a couple of on line casino referendum.
Final month, Sen. Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania) launched Senate Invoice 345. The statute was included into Lucas’ laws by the Senate forward of its vote on the Petersburg invoice. SB 345, now a part of SB 628, would prohibit a metropolis from reasking voters a couple of on line casino for 3 years from the date of a failed referendum.
Metropolis Transferring Ahead
In anticipation of SB 628 being signed by Youngkin, the Petersburg Metropolis Council on Tuesday signed off on permitting Metropolis Supervisor John “March” Altman to start fielding curiosity from doable on line casino builders.
The Petersburg authorities confronted criticism final yr for seemingly hanging a backroom cope with The Cordish Corporations to be town’s most popular on line casino developer, ought to the chance come up by way of state laws. Cordish pitched a $1.4 billion mixed-use improvement to be inbuilt a number of phases alongside I-95 at Wagner Highway.
The Petersburg Metropolis Council and Mayor Sam Parham have dedicated to holding a aggressive bidding course of this time round.
Cordish, which is predicated in Baltimore, will doubtless be among the many pool. Cordish’s 2023 plan for Petersburg included a on line casino ground with 2,000 slots, 60 desk video games, and a sportsbook. A 200-room lodge with a resort pool, leisure venue, assembly and conference area, and over a dozen eating places was moreover included within the preliminary blueprint.
