A casino referendum set for Nov. 7 in Richmond, Virginia, is drawing plenty of campaign cash in the city of 226,000. After voters rejected a casino in 2021, developers are working to get the latest version across the finish line.
In June, city officials chose RVA Entertainment as the company to build a casino. The company is a joint venture between Churchill Downs and Urban One, a media company that operates 55 radio stations and the TV One cable network. RVA plans a $562.5 million resort called Richmond Grand Resort Casino.
Developers have spent $8.1 million so far to garner support, according to Axios. That means Richmond voters should see plenty of advertising between now and Election Day.
“We’re engaging in real, two-way conversations with Richmonders in every neighborhood in the city, which requires resources, but it’s worth it to make sure citizens know the positive impacts of this new project and the many citywide benefits it will deliver,” Richmond Grand spokesman Michael Kelly told the website.
Developers Hoping for a Different Result
As part of the agreement with the city, RVA is planning a casino, 250-room hotel, and radio, television, and film production facilities on a 97-acre site on the city’s South Side. City officials believe the resort could bring 1,300 jobs to the area and generate $30 million in annual local tax revenue.
If the referendum passes, RVA would also hand the city a payout of $25.5 million and a $1 million bonus upon closing of the resort’s financing, according to Virginia Business. The previous referendum failed by about 1,500 votes and RVA is looking for a more favorable outcome this time. So far, Urban One has contributed $3.9 million to the campaign with Churchill chipping in another $3.1 million, making this the largest single corporate campaign in state history.
Those numbers dwarf casino campaigns in other parts of the state with Bristol’s effort only receiving $1 million spent. The previous Richmond election saw only $2.6 million.
Opponents find themselves vastly outspent and worry they might not be able to garner enough anti-casino voters because of the campaign to approve the resort.
“This time around my fear is that the grassroots interests won’t have the resources and energy to put up the same kind of fight, but the moneyed interests and politicians do,” David Dominique, who helped mount an opposition campaign to the casino in 2021, told Axios. “That’s why I see this as an unfair fight.”
Developers met with north side residents on Monday to answer questions and offer more details on the project. That’s something developers didn’t do the first time around. Some residents were eager to hear how the proposal had changed and learn about specifics of the plan.
“We were only hearing one side – from the business itself,” resident Eric Imajo told WRIC. “And what I heard about local government is that they were fully behind this. And I just wanted to hear some of the specifics because I wasn’t getting the information that I needed to hear.”
MGM, Resorts World Executive Firing Could Upend NY Casino Licensing
In other casino news, events in Las Vegas may have an impact on two of three casino licenses expected to be awarded for the New York City area. The New York Post reported that MGM Resorts and Resorts World looked to be “shoo-ins” for licenses at the companies’ Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Resorts World Casino at the Aqueduct Race Track in Queens.
That appears to be jeopardy now after a recent scandal affecting both companies after Scott Sibella, the former head of MGM Grand in Las Vegas, was sacked as president and operating chief of Resorts World on Friday. He’d been in the role since 2019 and Resorts World only noted that he’d been fired for “failing to disclose certain information required under company policies.”
“Federal agents, however, are reportedly probing whether employees at MGM Grand, where Sibella was president in 2017 and 2018, had been using company assets to pay off gambling debts to notorious bookie Wayne Nix, who pleaded guilty last year to running a massive, illegal gambling operation and filing false tax returns,” the Post noted.
The newspaper reported that officials at the New York gaming commission may also have questions for MGM since the actions occurred while Sibella was employed at the company.
“Ethics is going to be a huge deal in deciding who gets the licenses,” a gaming commission source told the Post. “The ethics and the relationships with the communities where they are putting their casinos is where this is going to be fought and won.”
MGM hasn’t commented on the issue and continues dealing with a major cybersecurity breach that has affected the company’s computer systems across the country.
