The Cordish Companies wants to build a casino resort on the south side of Petersburg at Wagner Road and Interstate 95, Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, said Wednesday, but not if the General Assembly also allows Richmond to seek a second voter referendum.

Morrissey, who accompanied Cordish officials and a Petersburg consultant at a Senate committee meeting on gaming issues, said in an interview that the Baltimore-based casino developer would not proceed with a smaller project in Petersburg if it had to compete with a casino in South Richmond.

Allowing both cities to proceed would produce two smaller, regional casinos, which he described as “slots in a box.”