The Hampton Roads metropolitan area includes Virginia Beach and Newport News in Virginia and Norfolk in North Carolina.
Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas, a Democrat from Portsmouth, is sponsoring a casino bill that would bring a gaming venue to Hampton Roads. Sen. Lucas says she has done so countless times before.
Sen. Lucas said that she is optimistic this year’s version of a Portsmouth-based casino bill would be more successful, citing support from the governor himself. Lucas shrugged off previous failures on this legislative front, as she told WTKR News 3 Virginia, “I’m losing count on the number of years I’ve introduced casino bills, but each year, I get a little bit closer.”
Her last attempt was in January 2016, when the bill did not make it out of committee.
$700 Million Lost Opportunity
For the state senator, the lack of casino gambling is a lost opportunity for the state of Virginia. Every week, busloads of Virginians board buses to play at MGM National Harbor, Horseshoe Baltimore, and Maryland Live!. Those buses full of Virginia gamblers should be playing in-state, according to the Louise Lucas.
According to Lucas, MGM National Harbor in Maryland alone siphons roughly $700 million a year from Virginians. Almost all of that money would remain in Virginia, if a Hampton Roads casino was developed.
Gov. Terry MacAuliffe Supports a Casino
This time, Senator Lucas believes she is getting close. For one thing, Gov. Terry MacAuliffe is backing the bill. Like Sen. Lucas, the governor looks at the matter from an economic point-of-view. Thousands of Virginians visit out-of-state casinos every year, losing vast sums of money to the house edge.
Gov. MacAuliffe explained it this way in January: “Of course we’re leaving money on the table. My friend was up [at MGM Grand] the other day. He counted the number of license plates from Virginia. People should be concerned. Our money is going over to Maryland to the beautiful new MGM facility.”
Costs the State 2,000 Jobs a Year
Those who support a Virginia land-based casino claim that the state legislature is costing people 2000 jobs a year and a roughly a hundred million in tax revenues. Two different local studies have concluded as much.
Hampton Roads Casino Study
The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization studied the issue of a Virginia casino in 2013. The Hampton Roads study suggested that a casino would sustain 2,000 permanent jobs, along with over a thousand temporary construction jobs.
A Hampton Roads casino also would generate between $200 million and $600 million in gaming revenues each year. The state’s tax windfall would be somewhere between $78 million and $121 million. Old Dominion University conducted a State of the Region study in 2015 and produced quite similar numbers to the Hampton Roads research.
A Mid-Southern Gambling Destination
One factor which makes a Virginia casino more attractive is the fact it would attract out-of-state gamblers. Not all of the casino’s revenues would come from in-state. Because North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia have few gambling venues, players from those neighboring states likely would drive to Virginia for casino gambling from time to time.
Both studies discussed the negative social impact of a local casino. Each cited a rise in problem gambling. Casinos make it easier to develop a compulsive gambling habit, which in turns leads to an increase in bankruptcy and depression, according to studies.
Rise in Crime and Corruption
The Hampton Roads and Old Dominion studies also discussed a rise in crime and corruption that a casino brings. Research on the correlation between casinos and crime are a great deal less certain. Some studies show an increase, while others show no increase in crime in the overall area.
Based on anecdotal evidence, local residents seem to like the idea of a casino nearby. Mary Green, who gambles at the only legal nearby gaming venue — a charitable bingo hall — says should would play in a casino, if she could.
One Bingo Player’s Stance
Mary Green said, “It’s just the same thing. The rush. It’s just pulling that lever or pushing that button,” then answered a question on whether she would visit a casino by saying, “Oh, definitely.”
The likelihood is Louise Lucas’s Hampton Roads casino bill this year will face the same lack of support as previous iterations. Virginia has voted for the Democrats in the last several presidential elections and it has a Democrat as governor at the moment, but the Commonwealth of Virginia remains a closely divided state. Virginia’s has a solid share of people who oppose casino gambling on moral grounds, so the chances of passing a casino bill are long, regardless of the obvious economic advantages it entails.
