Richmond, Va. voted, for the second time, not to have a casino. The casino was to be built in the south Richmond area, which we consider ‘the poor side of town’. This time and the last time a great amount of money went toward ads (tv, radio, etc.) to get people on board. The mayor and many top officials were for the casino saying it would bring a great amount of money into the city, especially the southside of Richmond.

               The mayor and others said most of the money gained from having the casino would go toward funding the schools (which is badly needed) and other needed improvements around Richmond. The same was said about the tolls on I-95 (before they were removed) and not much was seen. There are still tolls on other roadways around Richmond and still I haven’t seen much improvement except in downtown Richmond. The same was said before there were lottery tickets (scratch-offs, etc.), it was approved, it’s still ongoing and still not much is seen of the money gained.

               They were against Petersburg, Va., a city twenty miles down I-95 to the south of Richmond, also that is my hometown. Both times I wanted Petersburg to get the nod, but Richmond got it on its ballot instead. I live just outside Richmond therefore I could not vote for or against the casino. I really don’t know what all the fuss about the casino was because Virginia already has casinos. I don’t know why they were against Petersburg getting it either, so I decided to take a little ride.

               I have fond memories of Petersburg although it was during segregation. The Bill of Rights came to be the year I entered the U.S. Air Force. The city is known for the Civil War Battle of the Crater, among a few other things. When I retired from the air force, I became a policeman in my hometown.

               As I drove around the city, I saw vacant houses everywhere and vacant lots where houses or buildings used to be. There were plenty of nice homes scattered around but the mostly Black neighborhoods were in very bad shape. Trash and overgrown weeds and grass, vacant houses, empty lots, no businesses everywhere. I could see why Petersburg needed the casino to have a money flow, but I wonder if they would put it to use in the downtrodden areas.

 When I was on the police force the officers used to joke about the city council by calling them the city clowns. When I was on the force back then the city council was almost evenly split between White and Black members. When one side voted yes, the other side voted no and vice versa. I don’t know what is going on today. This is why I wonder if casino money would be used for great benefit.

I left Petersburg and started thinking about casinos (I’ve been to a lot of them all over the country) and thought about where a lot of them were located. Then when I pictured where a lot of them were it dawned on me that it was impoverished areas. So much for making the areas better.

My mind is still wondering if the casino is the best thing to have in either city. I just threw it out there, to clear my mind and to see what others think (like me you don’t have a dog in the fight either). I am also wondering what Richmond and Petersburg are going to do now. I believe many higher-ups still want to fight for a casino.