House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, and Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, wrote the 2020 law that allowed legal casino gaming in Virginia, but they do not agree on whether Richmond voters should have a second chance to decide on a $600 million casino resort proposed in South Side.
Knight, who dodged a major primary fight against a fellow Republican delegate who was paired in his district, says he “made a mistake” by not defining clearly in the law whether the five cities that the state would allow to host a casino could hold a second voter referendum if voters rejected a gaming proposal the first time.
