According to unofficial results from the state Board of Elections, 58% of voters selected “no” on their ballots for the casino, while 41% picked “yes.”
The topic of a casino only missed out on the necessary support by about 1,500 votes during the 2021 general election. About 78,000 people voted this week, compared to the 79,000 in 2021.
“We are proud to have run a community-centered campaign to create more opportunities for residents of this great city to rise into the middle class,” a statement from the Richmond Wins, Vote Yes, a pro-casino political action committee, said. “We are grateful to the thousands of Richmonders who voted for good jobs and a stronger city, especially those in Southside who poured their hearts into this project.”
More than $10 million was spent on advertising and casino campaign efforts during the build-up to the Nov. 7 election day. Pro-casino backers even put on a free Isley Brothers concert and set up food trucks next to an early voting facility in October and November.
However, the campaigns were also bogged in controversy. Urban One, one of the largest corporate supporters of the casino project, was mired by anti-Semetic speech from one of its radio show hosts.
“Paul Goldman (a critic of the casino project) is a Jew who got the same trait as Judas,” said Preston Brown on “The Box” on 99.5 FM, owned by Urban One. “He’s a white Jew with the background of Judas. I’m talking about one person, and his name is Paul Goldman, and he’s a Judas. And I think somebody might have heard me say ‘Jew.’ He’s a Judas, and Judas was with Jesus.”
