Last updated: December 16, 2024
Petersburg citizens have approved the construction of a $597 million Live! Casino by The Cordish Companies, with 81.5% voting in favor. This comes after Richmond’s repeated rejection of casino proposals, allowing Petersburg to become Virginia’s latest casino location. The project faced delays and controversies, including legal challenges over the tender process, but state lawmakers and the city council ultimately cleared the path for the development.
Petersburg citizens have overwhelmingly voted in favor of building a casino in their city, following Richmond’s repeated rejection of similar proposals. The ballot measure passed with a decisive 81.5%-18.5% margin, with 10,265 votes supporting the plan and 2,325 opposing it, according to the Virginia Secretary of State’s office.
The Cordish Companies have an idea and the licenses to build a Live! Casino in the city. In 2020, state legislators passed legislation that legalized digital sports betting at the same time that they named five sites around the state that are permitted to build land-based casinos. Of course, this cannot be done without local approval first. So far, Bristol’s Hard Rock, Danville’s Caesars, and Portsmouth’s Rivers have opened their doors.
Boyd Gaming, in partnership with the Pamunkey tribe, broke ground on a $750 million casino in Norfolk late last week, hoping to open doors in late 2027.
In Richmond, it was the fifth city to clear the hurdle but voters rejected the referendum in 2021. Two years later, 61% of voters again voiced opposition. After the second defeat, lawmakers in this small central Virginia town of Petersburg voted to go along with the plan.
State lawmakers approved Petersburg as a possible location and the city council then gave a license to Cordish in a no-bid process.
The road to Petersburg’s casino has been quite bumpy. After the loss at Richmond, Petersburg started lobbying to become the fifth venue for the casino. However, the state legislators were of the idea of giving the people of Richmond another chance, which made Petersburg wait a little longer. In April, the Virginia legislature amended the gambling law and included Petersburg as one of the proposed venues.
Later, one of the unions sued the city claiming that the tendering process was not transparent, which became a subject of debate. Legislators in Petersburg published a request for proposals in which they specified the qualities of the ideal casino operator. Bids were received from Bally’s, the Cordish Companies, Penn Entertainment, Rush Street, and the Warrenton Group partnering with Delaware North.
Each company submitted its bid during a town hall meeting held on April 14. Ten days later, the city council convened in a private session and subsequently declared a no-bid process, ultimately awarding the contract to Cordish. This company had previously submitted a bid for the Richmond casino. However, it was not selected. The Petersburg city council and the Virginia Lottery each granted his request in July to put a referendum on the ballot. Cordish is proposing the construction of a $597 million casino, hotel, and entertainment complex that will be spread over 92 acres in southern Petersburg. The property will be built in two phases.
