Richmond Resort & Casino

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, DalWill said:

Wouldn't you?  One of the reasons why I stepped away from that website in a while, a  bunch of noises. Nothing but assumptions about city government and the mayor failing to do it's job (kissing ass to the brats of the affluent).  Same ol' song,  same kind of singer. 

Tell me something, when people complain like that, don't they realize a good portion of city government are no more than their next door neighbors??  Might as well say your neighbors don't care about you either.

Wellllllllllllllp... funny you should ask that. Why? Because, in fact, I DID. Just a few minutes ago.

I (politely) clapped back against some rather fallacious and absolutely ludicrous assertions by a couple of posters, hitting them with a strong dose of FACTS (and yes, I brought a trainload of receipts). Unfortunately, nowadays there are some who feel that the bully pulpit entitles them to bring alternative facts and to bloviate on things about which they know nothing, or worse, to craft complete narratives based on nothing but whatever can be made up out of whole cloth to suit their agendas. Mind you, it's fine to have and express opinions on issues - but to make assertions that are completely based on opinion (or worse) and to claim them as fact when they are not grounded upon or based in ANYTHING real (particularly when one has NO receipts to back up said claims) is just straight up B.S.

And indeed, I agree with you - we should call B.S. on it EVERY DAMN TIME!

I'll be interested to see how many down votes I collect becomes these blowhards on there can't stomach someone hitting them with FACTS that PROVE that their assertions are nothing more than a pile of steaming, stinking drek.

Edited July 26, 2023 by I miss RVA

[whw53]

I don't like the blotchiness of this deal either and would have preferred a wider liberalization but this is what the state gave us. But that's not what RBS commenters and other detractors are coming from. The comment section of Reddit is even worse. For an online community that spends most of their time telling everyone else to 'check their privilege' and the like they could use a dose of their own medicine. why speak incessantly  over the wishes of south side on this one, do the people over there not have  agency?

Edited July 26, 2023 by whw53

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, whw53 said:

I don't like the blotchiness of this deal either and would have preferred a wider liberalization but this is what the state gave us. But that's not what RBS commenters and other detractors are coming from. The comment section of Reddit is even worse. For an online community that spends most of their time telling everyone else to 'check their privilege' and the like they could use a dose of their own medicine. why speak incessantly  over the wishes of south side on this one, do the people over there not have  agency?

Some of the comments over on reddit are stretching the limits of predictably absurd.

[eandslee]

Love the new fresh design!  A new name, which I like better too: Richmond Grand Resort & Casino:

https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/richmond-casino-reintroduced-with-new-name/

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by eandslee

[Brent114]

Looks good 

[rjp212]

I know they plan on extending Walmsley Blvd to the Casino, but are there any plans to connect the two parts of Walmsley?

[I miss RVA]

32 minutes ago, rjp212 said:

I know they plan on extending Walmsley Blvd to the Casino, but are there any plans to connect the two parts of Walmsley?

It would be great if they did - but building a bridge/overpass over the Fanshaw rail yard will cost a fortune. I'm guessing Walmsley will be extended to the casino from east, yes?

[eandslee]

More renderings of the new casino design:

https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/photos-show-proposed-richmond-grand-resort-and-casino-september-2023

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, eandslee said:

More renderings of the new casino design:

https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/photos-show-proposed-richmond-grand-resort-and-casino-september-2023

Sweet looking renderings, @eandslee. Expect to receive delivery of some new silver hardware after the holiday. Interesting that they're knocking down two segments of Philip Morris' old operations center building. I worked in that building for almost a decade. 

Hey- maybe they can actually include the big, brown, friendly letters that spell "DOG PARK" at the dog park!

[KJHburg]

This is surely not how to win people over to your side of wanting to build a casino.  When big money gets involved people can and will get nasty.   If Richmond builds a casino I surely hope it is with another group. 

From Washington  Business Journal:

""Cathy Hughes, the founder and chairperson of Silver Spring media company Urban One Inc. (NASDAQ: UONE), has come under fire for making divisive comments on a Richmond radio show about opponents to her company’s plan to open a casino in Virginia’s capital city.

Hughes and other hosts on the “Richmond Grand Casino Update” radio show on Urban One-owned WPZZ 104.7-FM demeaned Richmond leaders and residents who oppose the company’s casino project, according to audio snippets posted online by anti-casino group No Means No Casino. The clips date from Oct. 18 to Nov. 1.

Allan-Charles Chipman, a former Richmond City Council candidate and casino opponent, accused Hughes on the social media platform X of calling him and other Black community leaders that oppose the project a derogatory term.

The audio posted by No Means No Casino includes comments from Hughes where she compares divisions in Richmond’s Black community to “house and field,” using the N-word to describe both groups.

In another post on X, Chipman accuses Hughes and Gary Flowers, another host of the radio show, of "slandering" him by saying he is "paid by casino opposition."

Richmond Wins Votes Yes, a political action committee backed by Urban One and Churchill Downs Inc. (NASDAQ: CHDN), the joint partners on the $562 million Richmond Grand Resort & Casino project, issued a statement Friday condemning the remarks.

“Richmond Wins Vote Yes is about bringing people together to build a better Richmond and provide meaningful economic opportunity for the city and its people. This campaign unequivocally condemns the anti-Semitic language and divisive comments that were made on the air.”

I’ve reached out to Urban One's headquarters for further comment and will update this post when I hear back.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, a casino backer, used X to condemn the comments about Goldman.

The casino project is up for Richmond ballot referendum on Tuesday. A similar casino proposal from Urban One was defeated at the polls two years ago.

Urban One and Churchill Downs have spent a combined $9.5 million on the casino referendum through the Richmond Wins Vote Yes PAC.

“God has blessed me with enough to build the Richmond Grand. But $10 million is what the final [campaign] bill looks like. Such a waste. I am so mad at this opposition,” Hughes said in another audio clip posted on the No Means No Casino website. “Do you know how much good I could have done with $10 million? I had to pay the lawyers, the accountants, and the lobbyists … just to get the opportunity for you all to vote.”

In a separate audio clip from Preston Brown, the guest host of a program on Urban One-owned 99.5-FM’s The Box, he called casino opponent Paul Goldman “a white Jew with the background of Judas.” Goldman is a former chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia and was an adviser to several governors.

Urban One Regional Vice President Marsha Landess said in a statement that Brown will no longer appear on the station. “The anti-Semitic comments heard on The Box, 99.5 were made by a temporary guest host who was not an employee of the station," she said. "These statements were horrible and offensive. Once we heard the comments and because he was alone in the studio with his producer, I personally drove to the station and immediately removed him from the show.

Landess said in her statement that Urban One CEO Alfred Liggins, the son of Hughes, personally apologized to Goldman.""

[ancientcarpenter]

The only reason I'm voting YES on the casino is because if we don't get it then Petersburg will. Like it or not, we are getting a casino in south of RVA city one way or another. The only question is who should get the tax dollars: RVA or Petersburg? I'm selfishly choosing RVA because I will have kids in our public schools.

 

This isn't an easy decision for me. I absolutely hate gambling. I think it's one of the worst ways to spend time as a human being. However, some like it so let it be. But, dear lordy, has the Casino group done everything in their power to make me almost vote NO on the casino referendum. Every single time I hear anything about them I absolutely loath my YES vote and and even considering voting NO to spite how ugly, sleazy, and just down right awful with lies and misleading the public they have been. 

I really wish we were voting on "should we have a casino in this X area?" instead of already having this casino company be guaranteed for the job. Just my $0.02.

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, ancientcarpenter said:

I really wish we were voting on "should we have a casino in this X area?" instead of already having this casino company be guaranteed for the job. Just my $0.02.

The whole process of selecting a casino developer/operator BEFORE determining a yes/no on whether there should be a casino was 100% bass-ackwards IMNSHO. With all the recent reporting of how the casino folks are absolutely fumbling this, certainly from a PR perspective, I might be wrong, but I don't see this thing having a snowball's chance of passing the referendum. 

As some point the powers-that-be in the city government are going to have to take a hard look at how they "do business".  I've said for the longest time now - the city has no business attempting to be a development broker, whether it's for a casino or a commercial redevelopment. This is not going to end well.

[123fakestreet]

2 hours ago, ancientcarpenter said:

The only reason I'm voting YES on the casino is because if we don't get it then Petersburg will. 

 the Casino group done everything in their power to make me almost vote NO on the casino referendum. 

I really wish we were voting on "should we have a casino in this X area?" instead of already having this casino company be guaranteed for the job. Just my $0.02.

Agree. I was a a pretty hard yes the first time, would like another attraction in this city and we could use the license fee and tax money.  

But Urban One has screwed this thing up every way they can.  I was still a yes before the owner went on the radio the other day.  Wish we could have had a decent organization running it, a higher end casino in a nicer spot (but not somewhere it doesn't fit like SA). But the city just can't seem to get their act together with the right organization to do it.

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, 123fakestreet said:

Agree. I was a a pretty hard yes the first time, would like another attraction in this city and we could use the license fee and tax money.  

But Urban One has screwed this thing up every way they can.  I was still a yes before the owner went on the radio the other day.  Wish we could have had a decent organization running it, a higher end casino in a nicer spot (but not somewhere it doesn't fit like SA). But the city just can't seem to get their act together with the right organization to do it.

Urban One's sheer idiocy with the ridiculous, unwarranted, untoward public commentary and actions serves to further exacerbate what has been, I think, a fundamental problem with this plan all along - the methodology of selecting a casino operator/developer before securing that a casino was even going to be accepted by the citizenry. The city's fumble on this is as big - if not bigger - than Urban One's. Definitely a matter of "horse, meet back end of cart."

Tbh, what bothers me the most about this is that it is readily apparent that the powers-that-be at City Hall simply never learn from past mistakes. As my lovely ex-wife has a habit of saying when hard heads keep repeating stupid mistakes - "they don't believe fat meat is greasy." She's right as rain on this. I'm afraid the city's gonna learn the hard way about just how greasy fat meat can be.

As ugly as it's gotten - I shudder to think what will happen should (in all likelihood) the measure be defeated - which now, after all that's transpired, I'd say is far more likely than it might have been previously.

[RiverYuppy]

Tomorrows vote is going to be annoying for me. Every politician on my ballot will be running uncontested. I liked the original Casino proposal way better, but I guess I would rather this one than one in Petersburg.

I wish we could have the different proposed casinos on the ballot to choose from.

[eandslee]

Well, the casino got rejected again and this time, it wasn’t even close!  Urban One shot itself in the foot way too many times…and wasted $10M!  I guess we’ll now see a casino in Petersburg…eventually. 

[I miss RVA]

15 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Well, the casino got rejected again and this time, it wasn’t even close!  Urban One shot itself in the foot way too many times…and wasted $10M!  I guess we’ll now see a casino in Petersburg…eventually. 

Anyone really surprised?

WRIC-TV 8 is reporting a 30% margin, absent final tallies.

https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/richmond-again-rejects-casino-proposal/

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, I miss RVA said:

Anyone really surprised?

WRIC-TV 8 is reporting a 30% margin, absent final tallies.

https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/richmond-again-rejects-casino-proposal/

Here's the latest on the casino referendum from Axios Richmond. Axios is reporting that the measure was defeated by 16 points - a whopping 58% to 42% margin.

Wow...

Can we finally declare this issue dead & buried?

From tonight's Axios-Richmond:

https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2023/11/08/election-results-casino-urban-one-churchill-downs?stream=top&utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alerts_richmond

[DalWill]

33 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Anyone really surprised?

WRIC-TV 8 is reporting a 30% margin, absent final tallies.

https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/richmond-again-rejects-casino-proposal/

1. I’m saddened by this for the 8th district, but I’m glad this is done and over with. 
 

2. The beotch who got on that radio station and made that insult didn’t do any favors. If anything, it made matters worse in the final hour.

3. Would the momentum for Southside Richmond still be there after this? I’ll answer that-I don’t see that happening .  But I’m hope I’m wrong. All those who has opposed, I hope they consider investments in the 8th and 9th districts after this  whenever they voice their concerns to City Hall with a PLAN to uplift, not micromanage and dictate. Why do I say this?

 

I don’t think anyone’s opinion here (nor my own) holds weight to this. This is steeped in classism, so far beyond a casino. Or any development for that matter.  

[vaceltic]

The opinion article below perfectly encapsulates a more nuanced explanation as to why voting no is a salient argument that is not based on the trigger-happy excuse of class or race.

If anything, Cathy Hughes, the second richest African-American woman behind Oprah, exposed herself as the patronizing,  classist, and racist one when she did not get her way in a community she ultimately could care less about.

https://rvamag.com/politics/editorial-opinion/who-are-we-becoming-reclaiming-a-radical-vision-and-solidarity-of-economic-freedom-to-counter-a-divisive-casino-campaign.html

[wrldcoupe4]

Time to move on. Richmond won’t see a 3rd chance even with a new process. Hopefully this site can be repurposed into an industrial investment that helps South Richmond.  

[RiverYuppy]

Totally anecdotal, but in my neighborhood all the No signs were in young white people's yards while all the Yes signs were in old black people's yard. I haven't ever seen an issue come down so clearly on race lines in my area.

Two of my neighbors (one of each demographic) who live right beside each other and drink on each other's porch every night had dueling signs up in their respective yards. Certainly an contentious issue.

If I cared less, I would have voted for whichever I saw the least signs for.

I wish we had selected a casino other than the Urban One one. What were the merits for it over the other ones?

Petersburg has a lot of potential and really needs something to be an engine for growth. Hopefully a casino there can help with that.

Edited November 8, 2023 by RiverYuppy

[ancientcarpenter]

1 hour ago, vaceltic said:

If anything, Cathy Hughes, the second richest African-American woman behind Oprah, exposed herself as the patronizing,  classist, and racist one when she did not get her way in a community she ultimately could care less about.

 

The good thing is she can now do a whole bunch of "community good" in south RVA because the casino will not take up so much time.

 

Election happened...twice. Case closed here. I'm really curious what will happen to that southern RVA area now.

[Flood Zone]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Time to move on.

Indeed so.

I have no real standing in the matter as a non-Richmond resident. My instinct, however, tells me that in the long-term Richmond dodged a bullet.

[mintscraft56]

I dont understand this decision at all, really. I have 2 aunts and an uncle living in Richmond right now. I asked them myself what they thought about this and they seemed happy to respond positively about the formerly proposed casino. I know not everyone is the same, but whats stopping the rest of richmond(ers?) from voting yes to it? Infact the gap widened since the last vote and thats leaving me more confused to what happened here. 

Edited November 8, 2023 by mintscraft56