Newly Released Messages Shed Light on Petersburg Casino Letter

A rendering of the proposed casino development for Petersburg, Virginia, by Cordish Companies. (Image: courtesy of Cordish Companies)

A series of text messages and emails related to a controversial Petersburg casino authorization process have shown some of the deliberations that led to a letter that identified Bally’s as the city’s new casino partner – just a week before the city ultimately chose Cordish Companies for the lucrative contract. 

These newly revealed communications, however, raise more questions than they provide answers.

The messages were revealed following a Freedom of Information Act request by the Virginia Mercury, which asked for email and text communications related to the casino project or Virginia legislation that enabled the city to pursue the project between April 11 and April 18. 

The Mercury sought correspondence that involved three individuals: Petersburg City Manager March Altman, city spokesperson Joanne Williams, and Mayor Sam Parham.

Texts Suggest City Council Voted on Casino Letter

According to the Mercury, city officials only included text messages from Altman’s phone, some of which were with Williams. No messages were shared from Mayor Parham’s phone, with officials saying the mayor indicated he had no texts about the casino that week – even though it was the week in which the General Assembly granted permission for the city to go ahead with its casino development.

Still, the texts that were released showed discussions concerning the infamous letter from April 17 in which Altman signed a letter of intent saying that Petersburg would pick Bally’s as its casino partner.

Petersburg officials have been locked in a dispute with some state legislators – most prominently, State Senator Lashrecse Aird (D-Petersburg) – over the meaning and purpose of that letter. 

City officials say that they were pressured into picking Bally’s due to political pressure from the General Assembly, saying they were told the legislature might not allow them to have a casino otherwise. Aird has called that a “revisionist history” from the city, saying that the letter was the city’s idea.

“They wanted to know how they could provide an indicator to the General Assembly about what their intentions were,” Aird told the Mercury this week. “I still stand on the fact that, at the end of the day, the city came to me and said they wanted me to have something in hand in case questions came up prior to the vote.”

Some of the text messages appear to support Aird’s version of events. While she does pressure Altman to get her the letter before noon on the day of the General Assembly’s vote, she never mentions a specific company. And prior to an April 16 city council meeting, Altan texted Williams to ask if Mayor Parham had a copy of the Bally’s letter.

“Yes and he is sending to Council members and making phone calls to line up votes,” Williams said in the released texts. “He is OK with the letter.”

While messages such as those are less than definitive on the issue, they do suggest that there were no demands that the city sign such a letter to avoid losing a vote in the General Assembly. They also imply that the City Council at least had a vote on the letter, despite the fact that it would later pass a resolution saying the letter was “never formally authorized by City Council.”

Williams Says Aird Staffer Asked Her to ‘Take Ownership’ of Letter

However, there are also texts discussing who should take responsibility for creating the letter. While the letter came from Aird’s office, one message shows Williams claiming that Aird Chief of Staff Jameson Babb asked her to claim it as her own.

“Jameson asked that I take ownership of writing the letter,” Williams told Altman on April 16. “That’s fine with me. I did proof and make suggestions.” 

Altman ultimately got the letter to Aird just before noon on April 17, just before the legislature met. Aird replied by saying she was sorry for rushing him.

“I understand from Jameson that you’re upset,” Aird wrote to Altman. “I apologize for cutting our time short.”

A week later, the Petersburg City Council chose Cordish as its casino developer. The city still hasn’t released details of Cordish’s proposal, and a local union has threatened to sue over the decision.

Cordish Companies is a Baltimore, Maryland-based real estate developer whose casino properties include Live! casino-hotels in Maryland and Pennsylvania, and Seminole Hard Rock casino-hotels in Florida. Bally’s is a Rhode Island-based entertainment company that owns 17 casino properties in 11 states across the country.

No matter who in is responsible for the maneuvering around the casino developer selection, the fate of a potential Petersburg, Virginia, casino is still far from certain. Voters in the city will have the final say, as the proposal will be placed on the ballot this fall for approval.