The same day the Petersburg city council in Virginia and the circuit court of the state approved the November referendum by the voters for the new Cordish Live! casino.
The city council of Petersburg unanimously approved the referendum request at its meeting on Monday (15th July). The council voted 7-0 in a two-and-a-half-minute meeting, according to the Progress-Index. The circuit court took only two hours to review the case. It was approved and the referendum will appear on local ballots in November.
The Virginia Lottery announced on 9 July that Petersburg will replace Richmond as the fifth casino location in Virginia. The city was given permission to conduct the local casino referendum required by law. According to Virginia law, it was up to the Petersburg Circuit Court to decide on a referendum by 16 August in order to be included on the ballot for November.
Casino referendum approved by court:
The Virginia Lottery Board may approve the following: “Shall casino gambling be allowed at a casino in Petersburg, Virginia?”
The ballot will include a question and a “Yes” or “No” box.
Petersburg is now Virginia’s fifth casino location. Richmond residents rejected the casino plan in two different votes. The state legislature removed Richmond from its list of designated places in February.
Bristol, Danville and Norfolk, the four other cities that were designated as casinos, have also approved referendums. In these cities, casino projects are underway.
The final word is with the legislature
The state assembly has the right to halt the casino project even if the voters of Petersburg approve it. The bill that adds Petersburg to the list contains a clause for reenactment. The clause states that the law will not take effect until the state legislature has approved it once again.
The official applicant is Cordish’s subsidiary PPE Casino Resorts Petersburg LLC. On 92 acres in South Petersburg, the company intends to build a casino and hotel complex worth $597m. It would take two phases to build the property: an interim casino worth $142m would be opened within one year after referendum approval, and then a permanent casino with a five-star resort, restaurants, and entertainment venues would cost $454.2m.
