Richmonders will vote again on whether to add a casino to the city’s skyline. The first vote on the ONE Casino + Resort failed back in November by a margin of ~1,500 votes.
After a public hearing Monday night, City Council voted to hold another citywide referendum on whether to approve + move forward with the casino’s plans.
The ~$600 million casino proposal remains the same in terms of its planned location in Southside + the amount of jobs the facility is expected to bring the city.
This time, Mayor Levar Stoney has proposed a two-cent reduction to the city’s real estate tax if the plans are approved.
The city has emphasized the immediate $25 million payment from Urban One as well as the future tax revenue from the casino.
What about the other Virginia cities with casinos?
- Portsmouth’s $300M Rivers Casino broke ground on Victory Boulevard in December, and expects to open in late 2022-early 2023, the first in VA.
- Norfolk’s $500M Headwaters Resort + Casino is expected to open next to Harbor Park in 2023.
- Bristol’s Hard Rock Hotel + Casino was set to open a temporary gaming floor by last year, but is still under construction. The $400M project is currently hiring staff.
- Danville’s Ceasar’s Casino was expected to cost $400M, but was boosted to $500M when developers had to demolish old water towers to move in utilities.
There have also been several months of discussion for the city of Petersburg to vote on a casino in its next election.
The vote on the new casino proposal will come up in Virginia’s General Election in November.
Bonus: VA’s primary election date is Tues., June 21. The deadline to register to vote in that election is Mon., May 30. Richmonders will also vote in races for the House of Representatives.
