Richmond, VA, casino proposals get started to arrive ahead of public vote
Following Virginia agreed to usher in a new era of casino gambling last 12 months, the race started to see how rapidly the state’s market could be developed. Five cities were designated as possible targets for gambling houses, as long as neighborhood residents agreed, and projects in 3 are quickly advancing. Richmond voters will establish regardless of whether they want a casino in their backyard in November, and a number of casino operators are now making an attempt to win them in excess of, submitting big proposals to the Richmond Division of Financial Improvement (RDED) in anticipation of the final leg of the race.
The RDED is in charge of overseeing the bidding process and has had at least three proposals cross its desk. One is from The Cordish Organizations, which needs to put a $600-million project in Richmond’s famed Scott’s Addition Historic District. Cordish is behind Live!-branded casinos in Maryland and Pennsylvania, and envisions a new Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond at the former web site of a large film theater complex. That 17-acre website would home a 250,000-square-foot gaming floor, a hotel with 300 keys and a modest entertainment room with a capacity for up to four,000 men and women. 
Cordish believes it’s greatest suited, in contrast to the other bidders, for the Richmond venture, with Chief Operating Officer and companion Zed Smith explaining, “No gaming or advancement organization in the nation has our track record of effectively creating, financing, developing and working huge-scale casino enjoyment resort locations in regional markets.” However, Cordish executives are apparently unfamiliar with the phrase “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
The casino operator is suing one more Virginia city since it feels it was jilted out of becoming ready to open a residence there. Norfolk, one of the other 5 cities to be targeted for a gambling venue, determined to choose the Pamunkey Indian Tribe for its casino endeavors and Cordish believes it was stabbed in the back as a result. It asserts that a 2013 advancement agreement among it and Norfolk included a promise that it would be offered gaming rights if Virginia had been to legalize casinos.
The Pamunkey tribe is the second candidate to eye Richmond as a prospective target. It has submitted a proposal to the RDED, but no specifics on what it programs have been released. The tribe is unlikely to find success in the city because it has no background in operating casinos. The odds of currently being accredited to launch two simultaneously are really long.
A third proposal has a very good shot of finding assistance from Richmonders. Urban One particular is a publicly-traded company and, more importantly, a Black-owned entity functioning “to be the most trusted supply in the African-American community that informs, entertains, and inspires.” It has partnered with the parent organization of Colonial Downs to existing a $517-million casino venture that would be located in South Richmond, correct across the James River from the state’s capital. Urban One particular has publicity to the casino business by way of its stake in MGM National Harbor, and also has a whole lot of support. A recent report by the Richmond Instances-Dispatch shows that Richmond residents, of which a slight majority are Black, according to census reports, choose Urban A single as the likely casino operator.