Efforts to keep Rosie’s Gaming Emporium out of Amherst County and the town of Pulaski were leading in this year’s election as of late Tuesday, with some votes yet to be counted.
In both localities, voters were asked to approve or reject allowing parimutuel wagering, which is when participants place bets into a shared prize pool rather than against a house or bookmaker.
A “yes” vote on parimutuel wagering would pave the way for Rosie’s, which offers betting on live broadcast horse racing and historic horse races via slot-style machines. The company is affiliated with the Colonial Downs horse track in Virginia and owned by Richmond-based Churchill Downs; it has locations in Collinsville, Emporia, Hampton, New Kent and Vinton.
In Amherst County, “no” votes were ahead 50.66% to 49.34%.
In the town of Pulaski, “no” votes were ahead 56.46% to 43.54%, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections.
Voting results are unofficial until they’re certified on Dec. 7. Some vote totals were unavailable Tuesday, including those from provisional ballots, such as from voters who registered to vote on Election Day, and mail-in ballots that were postmarked by Election Day but will arrive later.
For Amherst County, this year marked the second time parimutuel wagering was on the ballot. In 2021, county voters defeated the effort to legalize it by a margin of 8.2 percentage points.
Supporters of the referendums said that Rosie’s would bring jobs, tax revenue and economic development. Opponents argued that gambling harms families, personal finances and communities.
A Rosie’s in Amherst County would contribute $1.9 million in annual tax revenue and employ 83 people full time, in addition to adding 200 construction jobs, according to Ryan Saylor, spokesperson for Commonwealth Wins, a political action committee funded by Churchill Downs.
A Rosie’s in Pulaski would add nearly 100 jobs there, according to political advertising from Commonwealth Wins.
“Nearly $2 million a year is new money that can support our schools, our deputies, our first responders and our roads. It doesn’t come from raising anyone’s tax rate,” Saylor told the Amherst County Board of Supervisors at its Oct. 20 meeting.
The Rev. Jeff Porter, of Bread of Life Church in Amherst County, told supervisors that in his more than 40 years of ministry in different communities, he has seen how gambling leads to financial ruin and domestic problems.
“The toll that it takes upon families and individuals … it far outweighs all the economic benefit that you could ever put up,” Porter said.
