Some people love casinos, especially for their economic benefits. However, Richmonders do not fancy casinos, at least most do not. This is evidenced by the recent gaming referendum, reconfirming Richmonders’ stand on having a Las Vegas-style casino in their city.
It all started in 2020 when Virginia decided to allow five cities to build casinos to help with economic recovery. These cities included Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Richmond. All the cities except Richmond passed their casino referendums.
In 2021, Richmond held its first casino referendum. Unfortunately, most residents were not ready for it. Still, the no-casino voters beat the yes-casino voters with only 1,493 votes.
Having garnered 49 percent votes supporting a casino, the group behind the yes-casino campaign felt they had another chance. This led to a multimillion-dollar campaign and gaming referendum in Richmond. Unfortunately, even more people disagree with the casino.
Worser Result
The casino project is a child of Urban One and Churchill Downs. Urban One is a black-owned media house based in Maryland famous for its annual hosting of the Kentucky Derby.
The two partnered to develop a casino in Richmond. However, before their dreams could come to fruition, Richmond had to decide via a vote. The first vote led to a 51-49 percent result, with the no-casino voters being more.
The support for the casino was split along geographical and racial lines. Ideally, most voters in the south side were black and they voted in support of the casino. The casino would also be built on the south side.
Meanwhile, the northern precincts mostly occupied by whites voted against the casino. As per the report on Tuesday night, 58 percent of voters were against the casino ballot, while 42 percent voted in favor of the casino.
We Concede Defeat
Urban One and Churchill Down did not have it easy, even for a moment. The casino developers faced opposition with each passing month.
Some difficulties also came from inside. For example, a radio host of one of the Urban One stations made some antisemitic remarks about Paul Goldman. Although the host was fired and the company apologized, the host’s remarks may have caused some harm to the casino project.
One of the anti-casino activists was Paul Goldman. He described the casino project as a David versus Goliath type of battle. This is because the activist and his supporters had less money to help his anti-casino cause while Urban One and other casino supporters had the funds.
David has spoken following the Tuesday reports. He said that the win was for the Richmonders and not himself. David continued to say it was not right to build a new city on the old politics of resentment.
The official result on the outcome of the referendum ballot has yet to be out. The unofficial results did not include the 18,000 early ballots. Yet, the casino proponents have conceded defeat.
One of the groups supporting the casino project said it was proud to run a community-focused campaign. The Richmond Wins Vote Yes group also thanked Richmonders who voted for the casino project that would have created good jobs and a stronger city.
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