After on February 4, the Virginia Senate passed legislation that would allow for a local referendum regarding the allowing of a casino in Bristol, on Saturday night the state’s General Assembly passed a bill that could see casino gaming brought to select areas across the southeastern U.S. state.
If the bill is approved, a $250 million Bristol Resort and Casino project would be the move if it's approved in citywide referenda. Only certain cities meeting the criteria outlined in the bill would be permitted to add casino gaming.
And a referendum, which must be in place before January 1, 2021, must be passed by the city regarding the question of whether or not to permit casino gaming in their respective cities.
Finally, the state’s casinos would be taxed at between 13% to 15% on their gaming revenues, with the exact rate to be based on a licensed gaming facility’s annual adjusted gross revenue.
A resort that could provide 5,200 direct jobs with an average salary of $46,000, within seven years, with wages and benefits of more than $200 million each year.
It would also bring in over 4,000,000 annual visitors to the area and create an economic impact to the independent city of Bristol and to Southwest Virginia that would exceed $1 billion annually and total over $4.5 billion within the first five years of operation.
