OPINION: Virginia localities, state rake in casino revenues, but they can’t be sole economic strategy

Wednesday, November 20, 2024 8:09 PM
  • Roger Chesley, Virginia Mercury

Joyce Jackson was eager to get inside the sprawling Rivers Casino Portsmouth on a recent weekday. Nor was she reticent to express her opinion about the full-scale gaming center that opened early last year. It’s one of five casinos that’s already operating or being planned across the commonwealth.

“I love it!” said Jackson, 76, who lives in nearby Norfolk and visits the casino in Portsmouth at least twice a month. A large digital billboard on the building promoted the upcoming appearance of comedian Tracy Morgan, an alumnus of “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock.”

“I just won a jackpot,” Jackson told me, explaining how she took home $2,600 during an earlier visit.