Petersburg hits the jackpot in General Assembly following formal vote on city referendum

RICHMOND – It will now be up to Petersburg’s voters to decide if their city will become Virginia’s fifth casino home.

On votes of 32-8 in the state Senate and 80-19 in the House of Delegates Wednesday, the General Assembly has agreed to move the question of a Petersburg casino to a November referendum. Senate Bill 628 cleared the legislature earlier this year with a House-generated amendment calling for a second legislative vote, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin sent the bill back to lawmakers with a suggestion to strike the re-enactment.

Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg and chief co-patron of the legislation, endorsed the Republican governor’s request. With Wednesday's votes, now so does the General Assembly.

According to Section 6 of the Virginia constitution, if both chambers agree to the recommended amendments, it becomes law without having to go back to the governor’s desk.

Petersburg now joins Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth as the five – and for right now, only – designated hosts for Virginia-run gambling. Referendums have been passed previously in all four of those cities, and casinos are up and running in three of them.

The votes also validate Petersburg’s three-year push to land a referendum that began after voters in original pick Richmond turned down the casino issue on the 2021 ballot. A prolonged political fight then ensued between Petersburg and Richmond after the latter began asking for a do-over on the referendum.

Richmond eventually won that battle but lost the war last November when voters rejected the referendum a second time by an even wider margin. Shortly after that, Petersburg re-entered the sweepstakes with new legislative leadership and a new promise to follow all of the guidelines spelled out in the 2019 legislation that set up the host cities.

“I made a promise to give my community this opportunity and today I delivered on that promise,” Aird said shortly after the House vote came through. “While voters will have the final say on whether a casino becomes a reality, this legislation has the potential for multi-million-dollar economic investment to be made in a community that both needs and truly deserves it.”

“On behalf of City Council and the city administration, I deeply thank Senator Aird for her unwavering commitment, hard work, and dedication to Petersburg and her residents,” Petesburg Mayor Sam Parham said in a statement released by the city. "This opportunity has the potential to be a game changer for our city. Senator Aird has fulfilled her promise to equip Petersburg with the needed tools to drive positive change and foster growth for future generations. The city also wants to thank Governor Youngkin for removing the re-enactment clause and the General Assembly for final approval.”

The next weigh station on Petersburg’s road to the casino is City Council’s choice of a vendor for it. Five companies forwarded bids on the project, and all of them got their chance to plead their cases in an April 14 town hall sponsored by Aird at the Petersburg Public Library. Council now must pore over those bids and choose their casino partner.

Vendors in the running include one major industry player in Bally’s Corporation, and four regional brands looking to make a footprint in Petersburg – The Cordish Companies and Bruce Smith Enterprises; Penn Entertainment, which operates Hollywood Casino in West Virginia among others; Rush Street Gaming, which is hoping to bring a Rivers Casino to Petersburg to join its operation in Portsmouth; and The Warrenton Group, which has partnered with entertainment company Delaware North.

All five proposed sites are within a five-mile radius in south Petersburg and encompass County Drive, Wagner Road, South Crater Road, Frontage Road and Rives Road. Each boasts proximity to Interstates 85, 95 and 295.

Council has yet to announce when it will make up its mind on the vendor. It had been rumored that the decision might have come during council’s Tuesday night meeting in time for Wednesday’s legislative votes, but that did not happen.

Petersburg spokesperson Joanne Williams said the city "will quickly move" on preparations for the referendum. She said City Manager March Altman plans to form a committee of city employees and community representatives "to plan this significant initiative."

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: General Assembly gives final OK to Petersburg casino vote