Petersburg residents cast their ballots in favor of building a casino within city limits during this year's election, giving city officials the green light to develop a $1.4 billion casino resort over the next several years.
The vote tally from the Virginia Department of Elections shows that over 80% of voters supported the referendum, which will give Virginia its fifth casino since 2020, when the General Assembly approved where gaming facilities can be built.
Other permanent and temporary casinos in the commonwealth are located in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth.
Although Petersburg is known for its past economic struggles, Mayor Sam Parham said the casino vote symbolized a step toward revitalizing the city’s infrastructure and building long-term growth through local tax revenue.
"The approval of the destination resort and casino in Petersburg marks a significant milestone for our City,” Parham said in a statement. “Voter approval follows a three-year journey on this transformative project that will bring positive change to Petersburg for generations.”
Charlie Cuthbert is a lawyer in Petersburg who represents the city’s 4th Ward on City Council.
“I know what our goal is,” he said, “and that is to create a resort development anchored by the casino. … It’s much more than a gambling hall that we’ve planned for Petersburg.”
According to Bob McNab, an Old Dominion University professor who studies casino economics, most casino projects create early buzz and rake in early returns, but the financial benefits end up leveling off.
“That first year is going to be a burst of activity,” he said. “And then it transforms into a steady diet of regular local visitors … . [It’s] really just reallocating entertainment dollars that could be going to, say, local movie theaters.”
For the Petersburg casino to have a significant impact on the city’s economy, it needs to either attract visitors from out-of-state or be a destination in its own right, he said.
“They’re going to get more jobs, more tax revenue,” he said. “But how do you transform this entertainment asset into an economic development asset?”
Costs of casinos
There are also social costs to consider, said Carolyn Hawley, the president of the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling.
“The vast majority of people gamble and like gambling,” she said. “But what are going to be the social costs of gambling?”
Some academics, like Hawley, point out that tax revenues are often offset by the need for additional social services to cope with social problems like gambling addiction.
She also noted that there is no public research funding in Virginia allocated specifically to study gambling issues.
At the end of the day in Petersburg, “it’s going to be locals gambling, and that means less transfer of wealth,” she said. “They’re maintaining problems within their communities. … Petersburg is not going to be Las Vegas.”
Petersburg's journey in developing a casino started in 2022 when City Council unanimously selected the Cordish Companies and codeveloper Bruce Smith to build the Live! Casino Resort on about 100 acres off of Interstate 95.
The Baltimore-based company — which was once considered as a potential developer for Richmond’s failed casino plans — presented a project to Petersburg that was estimated to bring in $240 million in local tax revenue and create thousands of jobs.
The Cordish Companies’ multiphase plan calls for a 400,000-square-foot destination casino, a 200-room hotel and 3,000-seat entertainment venue.
The casino itself would feature a number of dining and hospitality amenities, including multiple restaurants, 1,600 slot machines, 46 gaming tables, a 15-table poker room and a sportsbook area.
Casinos across Virginia
The first phase of construction will begin after the vote is certified by the state and all required approvals are received. Developers and city officials expect an opening date of the casino’s initial first phase in 2026.
The projected economic impact could bring billions of dollars to the region, including 7,500 new construction and permanent jobs ranging from hospitality, gaming and administrative staff, according to the developers. There are also potentially $201 million in annual economic benefits each year.
“This community has waited a long time for an economic development project of this size and scale, which will provide a huge boost for the City and the entire region,” Zed Smith, Cordish chief operating officer, said in a statement.
Other casinos in Virginia — notably one operating in Portsmouth and another coming online in Norfolk — may affect the Petersburg business, and vice versa.
“If I am sitting here in Hampton Roads, where we are going to have two casinos, Petersburg ends up in a blocking position,” McNab, the ODU professor, said.
He explained the Petersburg casino would likely siphon off gamblers from Northern Virginia who would otherwise head to Hampton Roads.
“The impact of the casino in Petersburg is going to be much more significant on Norfolk and Portsmouth,” McNab said.
There are also technological headwinds pushing against establishing a new brick-and-mortar casino.
“It seems with the advent of online gambling, there’s less of an interest of going to a gambling site as a destination,” said Andrew Economopoulos, an economics professor at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania.
