They also poured around $10 million into a political committee that advocated for the project. The developers made big promises about the job growth, tax revenue and entertainment options the facility would provide. The development plan was a joint venture between Urban One, a publicly traded media company, and Churchill Downs, the Louisville-based operator of the Kentucky Derby that also runs gambling establishments across the country. The project - branded the Richmond Grand Resort and Casino - was proposed for a former tobacco company site just off Interstate 95 in south Richmond. But Richmond residents voted down the project then and did so again Tuesday. Despite a high-dollar lobbying push, Richmond voters on Tuesday rejected for a second time a ballot measure that would have opened the door to a proposed casino resort in Virginia's capital city.ĭevelopers first tried in 2021, after the state Legislature paved the way for five casinos around the state if voters first gave their signoff.

Atlantic city casino failures trump