With just days until Richmonders vote on the Virginia city’s second casino referendum in three years, supporters are facing scrutiny for insensitive remarks shared on a radio show hosted by Cathy Hughes, Urban One’s founder and board chair. Urban One and Churchill Downs will be the developers for Richmond Grant Resort and Casino should the Nov. 7 referendum be approved.

Audio clips of two radio shows, which were broadcast on Praise 104.7 and The Box 99.5, were shared on No Means No Casino’s website. In one segment that appeared on The Box 99.5, guest host Preston Brown calls anti-casino activist Paul Goldman “a white Jew with the background of Judas.”

“The anti-Semitic comments heard on The Box, 99.5 were made by a temporary guest host who was not an employee of the station,” Marsha Landess, regional vice president of Radio One, told US Bets in a statement. “These statements were horrible and offensive. Once we heard the comments and because he was alone in the studio with his producer, I personally drove to the station and immediately removed him from the show. He will not be appearing again. Our CEO, Alfred Liggins, has personally apologized to Mr. Goldman on behalf of the station and our company, and we again sincerely apologize to Mr. Goldman for these remarks and condemn them in the strongest possible terms.”

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, a supporter of the casino, condemned the remarks on social media.

“I unequivocally condemn the antisemitic remarks made by a guest host on The Box 99.5 FM regarding Paul Goldman,” Stoney said on social media. “We must call hate out in all of its forms, and his remarks are completely unacceptable. I’m pleased to hear the station has issued an apology and fired the individual.”

In comments on Stoney’s post, some questioned why Richmond’s mayor didn’t also condemn Hughes’ use of a racial slur in the segments from the Praise 104.7 show. In another segment on Praise 104.7, one host uses the phrase “self-hating Black folk” to describe anti-casino activists Allan-Charles Chipman and Chelsea Higgs Wise.

US Bets reached out to Stoney’s office for comment on those remarks but didn’t immediately hear back.

I am not a self-hating Black person as they called me. I am an exploitation-hating Black man that firmly believes Dr. King is right when he said “Racism, economic exploitation, and militarism are all tied together. You can’t get rid of one without getting rid of the other. “

— ChipmanForRichmond (@MrLegacyJones) November 3, 2023

Poll suggests close vote

A recent poll suggests the upcoming referendum vote will be tight, but those results were gathered before the insensitive radio remarks. 

The poll, which was conducted by national polling firm co/efficient, was obtained by 8News. It says Richmond voters are torn on whether to vote for a casino in Virginia’s capital city. The poll, which surveyed just over 900 likely Richmond voters from Oct. 23-25, found that about 51% of respondents said they’d vote no, with roughly 49% saying they’d vote yes. 

A Founders Insight poll conducted earlier this fall suggested a tight vote as well, with 44% of respondents saying they’d support a casino in Richmond. Another 44% of respondents said they wouldn’t, and 12% were unsure.

The 2021 Richmond casino referendum narrowly failed. Casino stakeholders tried to have another referendum in 2022, but ultimately gave up on that effort. This year, casino stakeholders were able to get a referendum back on the ballot, and they’ve poured millions of dollars into efforts to get Richmonders to support the casino. 

“I am so mad at this opposition,” Hughes said. “Do you know how much good I could’ve done with $10 million I had to pay the lawyers and accountants and lobbyists. … Ten million will be the final paycheck just to get the opportunity for you all to vote.”

Norfolk casino moving forward

While Richmonders debate the merits of a casino, there are three legal casinos currently operational across Virginia, with Bristol, Danville, and Portsmouth all home to brick-and-mortar operations. Norfolk voters also approved casino construction via referendum, but building progress has been slow there.

The Pamunkey Indian Tribe shared earlier this week that it’s making progress on its discussions with city officials to build its HeadWaters Resort & Casino in Norfolk. The tribe submitted a preliminary site plan for the facility on Oct. 20, which gets the ball rolling on future steps.

The tribe will file an application for final site plan approval prior to Dec. 11. The city’s Architectural Review Board will review the application in January of 2024, with the Norfolk Planning Commission considering the application later that month. The Tribe hopes the Norfolk City Council will hold a hearing in February for the application. 

“Our team has been meeting routinely with City staff to review the Project plans and discuss the development timeline,” Robert Gray, chief of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, said in a statement. “We want to get this project up and running as soon as possible to start generating revenue for our Tribe, for the other recognized Virginia tribes that will benefit from this project, and for the City of Norfolk, its citizens, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

Photo: Carol Lee Rose/Getty Images