Virginia Dell. Raping City casino near Petersburg is looking for money

Posted: Jan 14, 2025, 02:36 pm.

Last updated: January 13, 2025, 04:37 pm.

A legislator in Virginia who represents the neighboring community of Petersburg, where a $600 million casino is planned, wants a share of the revenue generated by the resort.

Del. Mike Cherry (R-Colonial Heights) has represented Virginia's 66th district since January 2022. Cherry, a retired United States Air Force master sergeant and a pastor, voted in favor of legislation that would have allowed Petersburg to ask its residents if they support allowing a Las Vegas-style resort to come to town. Petersburg voters overwhelmingly supported a $600 million pitch from Baltimore-based Cordish Companies and Bruce Smith Enterprises during the 2024 election.

The purpose of HB 2322 is to establish a panel that includes representatives from Dinwiddie and Prince George's counties in addition to Petersburg, Hopewell and Colonial Heights. A five-member body called the Tri-Cities Improvement Commission will determine how the local tax revenues provided by the casinos should be distributed.

expenditure structure

Virginia lawmakers authorized casino gambling in 2020, but only in a small number of cities and on the condition that any gaming project secure public support through a local ballot referendum. Richmond initially qualified, but after voters in the capital city twice rejected the casino plan, Petersburg officials stepped in to relocate the unused gaming opportunity about 25 miles south.

The 2020 commercial gaming law imposes an 18% tax on annual revenues up to $200 million. The gradual tax increases to 23% on revenues up to $400 million and 30% on revenues over $400 million.

6% of the tax money stays with the casino's host cities – Norfolk, Danville and Portsmouth. Bristol, home of Hard Rock, does things a little differently with its own version of what Cherry is proposing.

After Bristol voters approved the Hard Rock development, legislation was passed to create a regional improvement commission and increase the local stake to 7%. The body includes representatives from 12 regional counties and two cities that share in 7% of Hard Rock's adjusted gaming revenue profits. Cherry is offering a similar regionwide casino-sharing plan.

The purpose of the Commission shall be to receive the disbursements made to it, to establish funding priorities from such disbursements for Member Territories concerned with improvements in the areas of education, transport and public safety, and to divide the annual payment equally among the jurisdictions. Establish priorities determined by the Commission,” Cherry’s bill reads.

The appointed commissioner of each area will serve for two years.

petersburg opposition

Petersburg would likely be opposed to sharing a significant amount of its casino cash. City officials, including Councilman Marlo Jones, have announced that Live! The development is Petersburg's “moment”. He believes neighboring communities will already benefit from Live! Virginia.

Cordish expects its Petersburg casino to provide a $2.8 billion economic boost to the Central Virginia region during the resort's first 10 years of business. The project is also projected to create 7,500 construction and permanent jobs with an average compensation of $70K including benefits.