City Council considers repeating vote on Richmond casino

The City of Richmond may hold a do-over referendum on the proposed casino in Virginia.

US.- After residents in Richmond, Virginia, rejected Urban One´s plan to construct a $565m casino on the city’s Southside last November, they may be asked to decide again. A bid for a do-over referendum on the proposed casino is set to go before Richmond City Council at its regular meeting Monday.

The request comes from Reva Trammell, who represents the Southside’s Eighth Voter District where the casino would be built. It was unanimously endorsed on Thursday by the council’s Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee.

If approved by the full council, the move would re-establish previously approved agreements between the city and Urban One for development of its proposed $565m One Casino + Resort and set the stage for a potential second referendum on this November’s ballot. 

City residents narrowly voted the project down in November last year, with 51.4 per cent of voters against it and a 1,200-vote margin. In Thursday’s committee meeting, council members said the closeness of that first vote, as well as the project’s potential economic impacts, meant it could be worth a second vote.

Urban One’s plan was to construct a 90,000 square foot gaming floor with 2,000 slot machines, over 100 gaming tables, a competition poker room, and a sportsbook. In addition to gaming, the hotel would have offered 250 4-Star, AAA 4-Diamond luxury rooms, with the capacity to expand to 600 rooms.

See also: Residents reject casino plan for Richmond, Virginia