Pulaski and Amherst County voters reject Rosie's gaming referendums; Amherst margin 183 votes

Voters in the town of Pulaski and in Amherst County turned down referendums Tuesday that would have opened the door to Rosie's Gaming Emporium locations, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. Amherst's vote was close, failing by 183 votes.

Both ballots asked whether parimutuel wagering should be permitted at satellite facilities in the locality. A "yes" vote would have cleared the way for Rosie's, owned by Churchill Downs, which offers betting on simulcast horse races and on historical horse racing machines that resemble slot machines. Under state law, the Virginia Racing Commission cannot license such a facility until local voters approve it.

The results

In the town of Pulaski, 1,463 voters, or 56.46%, opposed the measure and 1,128, or 43.54%, supported it, Virginia Business reported, citing state results as of midday Wednesday.

In Amherst County, 7,057 voters, or 50.66%, voted no and 6,874, or 49.34%, voted yes. It was the county's second rejection in five years. In 2021, Amherst voters defeated parimutuel wagering 7,293 to 6,189, a margin of about 8 percentage points, according to Virginia Business and Cardinal News.

Results remain unofficial until they are certified Dec. 7. Provisional ballots and mail ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrive later were still to be counted, Cardinal News reported. The Virginia Public Access Project called both referendums for the "no" side.

Revenue versus concerns

Supporters said a Rosie's would bring jobs and tax revenue. In Amherst County, a facility would have contributed $1.9 million a year in tax revenue and employed 83 people full time, plus 200 construction jobs, according to Ryan Saylor, spokesperson for Commonwealth Wins, a political action committee funded by Churchill Downs. Political advertising from the group said a Pulaski location would add nearly 100 jobs.

"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 on Oct. 20, according to Cardinal News. Saylor and Churchill Downs declined to comment Wednesday, Virginia Business reported.

Opponents argued gambling harms families and personal finances. The Rev. Jeff Porter of Bread of Life Church in Amherst County told supervisors that "the toll that it takes upon families and individuals … it far outweighs all the economic benefit that you could ever put up."

Tobey Thurston, who organized opposition in Amherst in 2021 and again this year, told Virginia Business the revenue was not worth the cost. "How do they make their money?" she asked. "By people losing. … Development is great, but it has to be the right development."

Local reaction

Pulaski Town Manager Todd Day, who backed the measure, said he was disappointed to lose the revenue but accepted the result. "The people spoke," he told Virginia Business. "They don't want it here, so I support that." He told WDBJ7 that the town faces millions of dollars in potential utility project spending.

Lori Saunders, director of Amherst County's Economic Development Authority, said the authority "saw Rosie as a great economic opportunity." Supervisor Tom Martin said the question "was put to the county citizens and they have spoken again."

Under Virginia law, the same question cannot go back on the ballot in either locality for three years. Churchill Downs operates eight Rosie's locations in Virginia, in Chesterfield, Henrico and New Kent counties and in Vinton, Dumfries, Collinsville, Hampton and Emporia.

Email the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors:

Laura Walters, Chair, Ingles District: lwalters@pulaskicounty.org,
Dirk Compton, Vice Chair, Draper District: dcompton@pulaskicounty.org,
Michael Mooney, Massie District: mmooney@pulaskicounty.org,
Jeffery Reeves, Robinson District: jreeves@pulaskicounty.org,
Chris Stafford, Cloyd District: cstafford@pulaskicounty.org,