
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 11, 1994                   TAG: 9403110153
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAMPTON                                LENGTH: Medium

CORPORATION PLANS RIVERBOAT GAMBLING SITES

A company that operates gambling casinos in Atlantic City and Puerto Rico has put a high-stakes lure on the table to get the General Assembly to reconsider riverboat gambling.

The Hollywood Casino Corp. announced plans Wednesday to build a gambling and entertainment complex in Hampton that would include two riverboat casinos. The company said the complex would create about 2,000 jobs.

The Dallas-based company said it is prepared to invest as much as $176 million in the 27-acre Strawberry Banks waterfront site if state lawmakers approve riverboat gambling.

The legislature, whose regular session ends Saturday, has balked at legalizing floating casinos. On Wednesday, a proposal that would have created an advisory referendum this November on such gambling was withdrawn Wednesday after lawmakers began attaching referendums on many other issues.

But Del. Jerrauld Jones, D-Norfolk, the sponsor of a riverboat gambling bill, said he may try again during a special session in September. That session is to consider parole and sentencing reform.

Officials of the casino company said they don't intend to give up their plans, despite Wednesday's legislative setback. They had hoped an advisory referendum would show overwhelming support for riverboat gambling.

"We wanted people to know we are not folding up our tent and going home," said Eric D. Terry, Hollywood Casino's development director. "We still think it's an exciting prospect for Hampton."

The casino project also would included a waterfront marketplace with at least four restaurants, a performing arts center and a parking garage. The company has a three-year option to buy the site and has spent more than $100,000 in preliminary architectural and design work, Terry said.

He also said the proposal does not call for any public funding. "We're not asking for anything," he said.

Terry said construction of the two riverboats could mean $55 million in business to Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.

The site at the mouth of the James River is considered a prime development spot. It now houses an old hotel.

Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY

by CNB