Richmond, Va., Offers Casino Reduced Gaming Tax, Project Surges to $562.5M

In the past month, officials in Richmond, Virginia finalized the casino plan from Urban One and chose it as the winner of the city’s only potential gaming license. Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E), an established casino and resort operator, is cooperating with the media conglomerate on the project.

Richmond has already selected Urban One’s plan of ONE casino with the resort. Now, everything is dependent on the residents whose votes are required to finalize the project. The Richmond City Council is discussing specifics of the project with Urban One before local voters decide whether to approve the commercial gaming business through a ballot referendum in the autumn election. Meanwhile, the City Council is sorting out the intricacies. If voters approve the project, the government agency has already agreed on a tiny incentive for Urban One to proceed quickly into development.

Currently released, “Resort-Casino-Host-Community-Agreement,” says that it will cost-cut the taxes of the city on accounts of “GGR” Gross Gaming Revenue generated in the very first year through the casinos, but only at one condition that the venture should be established before 31^st December 2023. If the construction and working of the Casino plus Resort starts before the deadline then the net GGR tax will get a reduction from 3% to 1.875%. It is estimated that the tax revenue generated from Richmond’s casinos will fall between 19 million to 22 million U.S. dollars

Because it targeted a casino resort at the Philip Morris headquarters and manufacturing area along I-95 south of the city, Urban One earned popularity in Richmond. Bally’s and The Cordish Companies, the other two finalists, intended to construct in more suburban regions, which drew substantial opposition from residents. However, at $517 million, Urban One was the smallest overall investment. Bally’s offered a $650 million construction budget, while Cordish recommended a $600 million budget. However, after being chosen by the city, the ONE Casino + Resort’s budget has risen dramatically. The overall capital investment “shall be a minimum of $562,534,705,” according to the term sheet.