Petersburg tries on its poker face as casino referendum is now on the table in legislature

RICHMOND – Petersburg's hopes for a casino referendum have been officially dealt to the 2024 Virginia General Assembly, and unlike previous attempts, they come to the table with some very influential support and possibly some other legislation to help push it to the pay window.

While Senate Bill 628 does not specifically state that Petersburg would replace Richmond as the fifth casino host city, it amends requirements for the host city that would fit Petersburg. The legislation removes a minimum 200,000-population stipulation, and drops the rate floor for tax-exempted real-estate property in 2017 and poverty rate in 2019.

It also adds a requirement that the host city had an unemployment rate of at least 13% in 2020 according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In 2020, Petersburg’s unemployment rate was 21.1%.

The bill’s chief sponsors in the Senate are newly minted Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, and Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth.

The addition of Lucas automatically increases the odds for the bill’s chances this session. Lucas had been a key opponent of a Petersburg casino the last two years when the measure went before Senate F&A. She later admitted to The Progress-Index that her opposition was due in part to the way Sen. Joe Morrissey – whom Aird beat in last June’s Democratic primary – pushed for the city’s inclusion.

Lucas is also the chair of the powerful Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee, the same panel that burst Petersburg's bubble two straight sessions.

Lucas’ district includes Rivers Casino in Portsmouth.

Five years ago, the General Assembly approved the cities of Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond as possible host cities for casinos. Each city held a referendum on the issue, and Richmond was the only one where voters turned it down – twice.

Petersburg jumped into the game immediately after the first Richmond defeat in 2021. For the next two years, the city went all-in on landing the casino, but both efforts ultimately failed.

The 2022 and 2023 legislative sessions saw Morrissey and Del. Kim Taylor, R-Dinwiddie County, push unsuccessfully for Petersburg’s casino referendum. Taylor, who won re-election to the House last November, will not introduce House companion legislation, opting to support the Senate measure should it make it through that chamber.

“Having a single introductory bill allows energies to be focused in one place on one bill,” Taylor said, adding that she will “fully support giving voters in the 82^nd District the opportunity to make their voices heard on this matter.”

Related: Delegate thinks 'totally different climate' at Assembly speaks better for Petersburg casino

Senate Bill 628’s path is similar to ones it followed the last two years. It will first be heard by the Senate General Laws & Technology Committee – of which Aird is a member – and then Senate F&A, which Lucas chairs.

Additionally, the Aird-Lucas proposal deletes language that would provide “preferred consideration” to Native American tribes in Virginia. Norfolk’s proposed HeadWaters Casino is backed by the Pamunkey tribe.

Lucas' Senate district is home to Rivers Casino in Portsmouth, one of three now up and running. The others are Hard Rock in Bristol and Caesar's in Danville. All three have shown great financial promise in their first years of operation.

Aided by other legislation?

In the last two legislative sessions, Petersburg’s casino chances were shadowed by Richmond’s efforts to get a do-over on the failed 2021 referendum. For two years, the two cities roughly 25 miles apart clashed over who would land that coveted fifth-host spot. Richmond claimed the 1,500-vote margin by which the casino failed in 2021 was due to miscommunication and a lack of understanding among city voters over what they were being asked to support.

Richmond eventually prevailed in the Assembly but failed where it mattered the most – at the ballot box. The narrow defeat in 2021 was replaced by a 61% “no” vote last November, prompting that city to abandon any hopes for now.

One lawmaker wants to turn “for now” into "the distant future." Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania County, introduced a bill that would prohibit any potential host city where a casino referendum has failed from voting on it again for three years after the unsuccessful referendum.

Del. Betsy Carr, D-Richmond, has also submitted legislation that closely mirrors the amendments made in the Aird-Lucas bill.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg casino referendum is now in play before legislature