Steve Burns
WMAL.com
RICHMOND – (WMAL) A bill that would legalize casino gambling in Virginia is set to get reviewed by a Senate committee in Richmond today. The bill would allow for casino gaming only in communities that approve it through a referendum, and stipulates that most of the proceeds would go toward funding major road projects in the Hampton Roads region. That region has long been supportive of legalized gaming, and may be one of the first places to see a casino should the bill pass.
“I really think this is something we should’ve done in Virginia and we should’ve thought about doing years ago,” Del. Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon) told WMAL. “We kind of missed the boat in Northern Virginia.”
Politicians like Surovell and the Senate bill’s main sponsor, Senator Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) have long advocated for legalizing casino gaming in Virginia, but their bills have never made it far. However, they believe this year may be different thanks to the recent opening of MGM National Harbor, just across the Potomac from Virginia.
“If we ever do a casino in Virginia, I think it would have to be in Hampton Roads or the Richmond area, because there’s too much competition up here in the D.C. Metro area now that MGM has opened up,” Surovell said. “We’re really missing a big opportunity to help broaden our tax base and broaden our revenue base in Virginia.”
Political analyst Quentin Kidd isn’t optimistic about the bill’s chances, but agrees the dynamic may be a bit different this year.
“In many ways, Virginia is still culturally very traditional,” Kidd told WMAL. “(But) it could be that as Virginia sees the revenue that gets generated by Maryland, they become more open to the idea of trying to capture that revenue back.”
Copyright 2017 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: CC0 Public Domain via pixabay.com)
