Petersburg Casino Referendum Approved for November Ballot

Posted on: July 15, 2024, 04:29h. 

Last updated on: July 15, 2024, 04:29h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Voters in Petersburg, Va., this November will pick not only their next U.S. president but also decide whether they wish to allow a commercial casino in their city.

Petersburg casino Virginia referendum
A rendering of the proposed $1.4 billion mixed-use development and integrated resort casino called Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia. For the project to be greenlit, local voters in Petersburg must first approve of the project in their hometown. (Image: Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia)

On Monday, Petersburg Circuit Court Judge Dennis Martin signed off on referendum language drafted by the city council.

The judge’s endorsement comes a week after the Virginia Lottery Board certified Petersburg as an eligible host city for a commercial casino. Virginia’s 2020 commercial gaming law tasked the lottery agency with regulating casino gambling and sports betting in the commonwealth.  

With Martin’s approval, the referendum is now ready to be printed on the local Petersburg ballots that will go before voters for the Nov. 5 election. If a simple majority of voters endorse the presented casino, the developers behind the project will be able to proceed with applying to the Virginia Lottery to secure a gaming concession in the commonwealth.

Referendum Language

Petersburg voters will face the following local ballot referendum on Nov. 5:

Shall casino gaming be permitted at a casino gaming establishment in Petersburg, Virginia, located on an approximate 92.5-acre development site located off Interstate 95 at Wagner Road along Brassfield Parkway in the City of Petersburg as may be approved by the Virginia Lottery Board?”

“Yes” and “no” checkboxes accompany the question. The specific location is where The Cordish Companies hopes to build and open an approximately $143 million casino within a year of a successful referendum.

Cordish, which operates Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland in its home state and two casinos in neighboring Pennsylvania, is partnered with Bruce Smith Enterprises, a commercial real estate firm specializing in mixed-use developments in the Mid-Atlantic. Bruce Smith is a Virginia native from Norfolk who was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2009.

Cordish and Smith say the $143 million casino would expand into a full-fledged integrated resort through a subsequent $454 million development phase. The roughly $597 million investment to create the entertainment destination called Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia would include an upscale 200-room hotel, a resort pool and fitness center, 35,000 square feet of convention space, and a 3,000-seat concert venue.

As for the casino, Cordish and Smith, operating collectively as PPE Casino Resorts Petersburg, LLC, say the permanent gaming floor would offer players 1,000 slot machines, 23 live dealer table games, a dedicated 15-table poker room, and a sportsbook.

The development team projects the casino resort would create 7,500 jobs on average compensation of around $70K, inclusive of benefits.

Bruce Smith Enterprise was founded in 2004 by the NFL’s all-time sack leader. Among the firm’s notable projects include the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Swedish Embassy, and Harbourside Office Building, all of which are in the nation’s capital. The company also built Smith’s Landing, an apartment community, in Blacksburg.

$1.4B Investment Floated

Along with the casino resort, PPE has pledged to further expand the complex during the destination’s first 15 years in business to include an array of mixed-use attractions. Project plans include a non-gaming hotel separate from the casino resort, plus residential units and commercial office space.

Cordish and Bruce Smith said the total cost of the project upon completion would be expected to climb upwards of $1.4 billion.