Petersburg residents to vote on fate of Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia on election day
PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — On election day in Petersburg, city residents will decide whether or not they want to bring a new destination casino and resort to the city. After the Nov. 5 election, the large open space off Wagner Road behind the Sheetz could be home to the Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia. Vice Mayor Darrin Hill says that even getting the casino referendum on the ballot in the first place was a challenge. Now, he claims residents need to know the benefits that could come with an affirmative vote. “Job growth -- that's the most important thing -- economic development, stimulus. I know people have heard it in the past, but this right here is a game changer,” Hill said. Hill is also the representative for the 2nd Ward, which is where the casino would go if voters approve. “It's going to be a hub for the city -- and not only for the city but for central Virginia,” he said. The option to vote on the casino was made possible after the city received the “OK” from the general assembly earlier this year. Now voters can place their bets and decide if they want to bring the $1.4 billion gaming destination to the city. “Whether you're voting for or against it, that's your voice. Many people have fought to give us this right to vote,” Hill said. The Cordish Company, the backer behind the casino -- along with city leaders -- chose the approximately 92.5-acre space off of Interstate 95 at Wagner Road along Brassfield Parkway to build its destination. Hill says whether or not the casino comes to fruition, the city will still be moving forward. "We've done a great deal of moving the needle as far as jobs and we have small businesses that are coming [to] our city," Hill said. “So, as a city, we're doing that. But this is ... a shot in the arm that the city really needs to move us to that next level.” If the casino is voted in, leaders anticipate that within the first 10 years of its existence, it will bring over 7,500 new and permanent jobs to the area.
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PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — On election day in Petersburg, city residents will decide whether or not they want to bring a new destination casino and resort to the city.
After the Nov. 5 election, the large open space off Wagner Road behind the Sheetz could be home to the Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia.
Vice Mayor Darrin Hill says that even getting the casino referendum on the ballot in the first place was a challenge. Now, he claims residents need to know the benefits that could come with an affirmative vote.
“Job growth -- that's the most important thing -- economic development, stimulus. I know people have heard it in the past, but this right here is a game changer,” Hill said.
Hill is also the representative for the 2nd Ward, which is where the casino would go if voters approve.
“It's going to be a hub for the city -- and not only for the city but for central Virginia,” he said.
The option to vote on the casino was made possible after the city received the “OK” from the general assembly earlier this year. Now voters can place their bets and decide if they want to bring the $1.4 billion gaming destination to the city.
“Whether you're voting for or against it, that's your voice. Many people have fought to give us this right to vote,” Hill said.
The Cordish Company, the backer behind the casino -- along with city leaders -- chose the approximately 92.5-acre space off of Interstate 95 at Wagner Road along Brassfield Parkway to build its destination.
Hill says whether or not the casino comes to fruition, the city will still be moving forward.
"We've done a great deal of moving the needle as far as jobs and we have small businesses that are coming [to] our city," Hill said. “So, as a city, we're doing that. But this is ... a shot in the arm that the city really needs to move us to that next level.”
If the casino is voted in, leaders anticipate that within the first 10 years of its existence, it will bring over 7,500 new and permanent jobs to the area.
