The referendum on the casino proposal will appear on ballots on November 7.
US.- Richmond Circuit Court chief judge William Reilly Marchant has issued a ruling clearing the way for a second Richmond casino referendum. He ruled against the Richmond Lodge No. 1 of the Good Lions, a nonprofit organisation that had filed a motion to block the casino vote. It had accused the city of improperly awarding a casino contract without a public bidding process.
Marchant, who had already approved a second referendum, had placed an emergency suspension of the earlier order last week to consider the Good Lions’ motions. He has now denied the appeal, clearing the way for a referendum to appear on ballots on November 7.
The casino project developer, RVA Entertainment Holdings, comprising Churchill Downs and Urban One, have welcomed the news. If the referendum goes in its favour, it will construct a 90,000 square foot gaming floor with 2,000 slot machines, over 100 gaming tables, a competition poker room and a sportsbook. A hotel would have offered 250 4-Star, AAA 4-Diamond luxury rooms, with the possibility to expand to 600. A previous referendum was narrowly voted down by residents in November 2021.
