Category: Gambling
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The Governor Flexes Her Muscles
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Governor Spanberger has issued her first veto. To add some drama, it was of a high-priority bill sponsored by one of the top Democrats in the Senate. Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), the Senate Majority Leader, introduced legislation that would have authorized a referendum in Fairfax County on the establishment of a casino at…
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Surprising No One, Study Finds Skill Games Target Poor
By Steve Haner A Virginia economist has turned up hard data showing which neighborhoods contained the highest concentration of the gaming devices called “skill games” by some and “neighborhood slot machines” by others, when last they were legal. The result will not surprise you. Fletcher Mangum of Mangum Economics in Henrico County was hired by…
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I’ve Got It! Let’s Just Change the Rules!
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Because it could not legally stop the establishment of a historical horse racing facility within its boundaries, Henrico County is asking the General Assembly to change the rules. This issue was covered before in Bacon’s Rebellion. In summary, Henrico voters approved the establishment of off-track-betting facilities in the county. In 2018, the…
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Governor Leaves Consistency and Principle Behind
by Dick Hall-Sizemore With his proposed amendments to legislation regulating “games of skill,” Gov. Youngkin has demonstrated deep inconsistencies, if not outright hypocrisy. Before getting into the specifics, a little background is needed. “Games of skill” are machines on which people can play and win money. The proponents of the machines claim that some element…
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Common Sense from Young Delegate Earley
by Gordon C. Morse Occasionally, a member of the House of Delegates will stand up, speak to a matter of public interest and do so coherently. Del. Mark L. Earley Jr., R-Chesterfield, achieved this feat on Friday afternoon, Feb. 23, 2024, when he offered his thoughts on state Sen. Bill 212 — legislation that would…
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Casino’s Last Stand: A Nauseating Display of Hate
by Jon Baliles The second casino referendum will be decided on Tuesday and it will be a vote (again) on whether or not Richmond wants to do the get-rich-quick schemes to help people or do the hard work of methodically mapping out a strategy and building a future. The get-rich-quick schemes like the casino and…
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Resorts Like Airports
by Jon Baliles There has been a lot of boasting from the casino advocates about their partnership with Kentucky-based Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI). The rebranded Richmond Grand casino developer Urban One is a radio and TV conglomerate that has said they are partnering with CDI because of their huge capitalization and experience with casinos. But…
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Deep Dive: Casinos, Highways, and Ignoring RVA Voters
by Jon Baliles Republished with permission from RVA 5×5. They say the past is prologue and that if you don’t learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it, among other famous quotes that have stood the test of time. And they have a factor of truth and lesson in them. And so is the…
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Eternal Betting
by Jon Baliles Two weeks ago, you probably heard the news about the vote promise scam from Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and the casino advocates that they would put 2/3 of the annual casino tax revenue towards early childcare for kids in Southside. This week, you might have heard about the press conference that the…
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“Blessed“ Is the Second RVA Casino Referendum
by Jon Baliles Early voting has begin in Virginia and the Richmond casino advocates have gone all-in with the mayor and City Council to make sure the referendum got back on the ballot and now are betting the house with an absurd amount of money to make sure the referendum passes this time. Jimmy Cloutier…
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RVA 5×5: Referendum Waiting In The Wings
by Jon Baliles Three weeks or so ago, the regurgitation of the casino referendum got a round of approval from almost everyone on City Council in a meeting that was filled with unearned righteousness about how it was going to save the city (kudos to Councilwoman Katherine Jordan for the lone no vote). Richmond BizSense…
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RVA 5×5 — Who Really Voted Down The Casino Referendum?
by Jon Baliles The casino referendum is the issue that won’t go away — kind of like a desperate or compulsive gambler who stays put because the next hand is the winning hand, or the slot player who is completely convinced the next pull of that handle will deliver the jackpot. At some point, you…
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Portsmouth: Chaos + Casino = Chaos
by James C. Sherlock Portsmouth has a lot of problems. Look for them to get worse in February when its new casino is scheduled to open. A key thing you need to know about the casino is that it is the realization of Louise Lucas’ vision. Senator Lucas has spent 22 years promoting a casino…
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Schools, Floods, Roads, Monuments, Gambling, Oh My!
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Local referenda, while important locally, are often overlooked in the media coverage of elections. However, the results of those elections may provide some insight into the mood of the electorate, at least in some areas of the state. Following is a summary of the results of the local referenda on the ballot…
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Virginians Seek Help for Problem Gambling as Industry Expands
by Carolyn Hawley In the first six months of 2021, individuals requesting help for gambling-related problems made 394 phone calls to the Virginia Problem Gambling Helpline. That compares to 335 intakes in all of 2020, and 311 intakes in 2019 — meaning the Commonwealth is seeing a significant increase in call volume made by individuals…