Petersburg casino referendum approved; will be on November ballot
Petersburg’s city council unanimously approved the request for referendum approval at a Monday (15 July) meeting. The council voted 7-0 in a two-and-a-half-minute meeting, according to the Progress-Index. From there, it went to the circuit court, which needed only two hours. The referendum was approved, and will be on the local ballot in November.
On 9 July, the Virginia Lottery approved Petersburg to replace Richmond as one of five casino locations in the state. It gave the city permission to authorise the required local voter casino referendum. Under Virginia law, the Petersburg Circuit Court had until 16 August to approve a referendum in time to make the November ballot.
The casino referendum approved by the court reads:
“Shall casino gaming be permitted at a casino gaming establishment in Petersburg, Virginia as may be approved by the Virginia Lottery Board?”
“Yes” and “No” checkboxes follow the ballot question.
Petersburg replaces Richmond as one of Virginia’s five approved casino locations. Richmond voters rejected casino plans on two separate votes. In February, the state legislature voted to remove the city from the list of designated locations.
Voters in the other four cities designated to host casinos – Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth – approved their referendums. Casino projects are under way in those cities.
Legislature gets final say
Even if Petersburg voters approve a casino, the state’s general assembly still has the power to derail the project. There is a reenactment clause in the bill adding Petersburg to the list. According to the clause the measure won’t take effect unless the legislature approves it again.
Cordish subsidiary PPE Casino Resorts Petersburg LLC is the official applicant. The company plans a $597m casino, hotel and entertainment complex on 92 acres of land in south Petersburg. The property would be built in two phases: a $142m interim casino that would open within a year of referendum approval; and a $454.2m permanent location including a casino, five-star hotel, restaurants and an entertainment venue would follow.