They will continue to keep tribal matters internal to the Tribe. It’s unfortunate to see the comments devolve into hearsay, rumors and more inaccurate information.

Norfolk and the Pamunkey Tribe first started talking about a resort and casino more than two years ago. Together, we identified a suitable piece of property and began to negotiate a purchase price for the property and an intergovernmental agreement. The Tribe agreed to pay full market value (approximately $10 million) for the land. A tribal casino is exempt from state and local property taxes, however, a Tribe pursuing tribal gaming typically enters into an agreement for services from the locality — fire and rescue, police, water, sewer, etc. The City and Tribe had agreed that the Tribe would pay 4 percent of the net gaming revenue (with a minimum payment of $3 million/year) to Norfolk. This was estimated to be approximately $33 million per year. That revenue would certainly exceed expected property taxes, lodging taxes, food and beverage taxes for a project of this size.홀짝게임

That relationship between the Tribe and Norfolk continued once the Virginia General Assembly legalized commercial gaming. At that point, the City and Tribe agreed to convert to a commercial casino (rather than tribal casino), and follow the regulations and tax structure established by the Virginia General Assembly in 2020. It is worth noting, that the new tax structure will have the Tribe pay more than $30 million to the City, with some projections estimated at more than $40 million per year, plus an additional $50 million per year for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Whether as a tribal casino, or now as a commercial casino, this project represents the largest private economic development project ($500 million) in the City’s history and guarantees an annual revenue stream for the city — all that with NO local or state tax breaks, public subsidies or government funding. That’s why Norfolk is so committed to the Tribe and this project. Our development partner and team have considerable experience in both gaming and financing/developing large-scale, high-end properties over the years. We hire top-tier management and intend to attract talented people to make this a world-class resort and casino.