September 23
In Virginia, there is a small,
out-of-the-way town in Westmoreland
County that wants their casinos
back.
The town of Colonial Beach (pop.
less than 3300), is located on the
Potomac River. In the 1950's, this
town was the place to gamble. Just
one year ago, it's much-loved and
only remaining Riverboat Casino and
boardwalk area was demolished by
Hurricane Isabel.
The Riverboat was one of the
areas largest employers and is
greatly missed. To bring Colonial
Beach back to standard, there are
now two different ideas being
campaigned to get it there. One idea
is to rebuild the Riverboat. The
other is to construct an off-track
wagering facility to Westmoreland
County. The off-track wagering
facility will most certainly be
located in Colonial Beach.
In November, there will be a
referendum on the ballot in
Westmoreland County as well as four
other areas where Colonial Downs
wants to pursue constructing a new
facility.Colonial
Downs operates the only betting race
track in the state and six off-track
facilities, where wagering takes
place on televised horse races.
Owners of the Riverboat, also had
an off-track betting parlor licensed
by Maryland (it was located on a
pier in Maryland waters) and are
working on plans to reconstruct the
much encouraged new casino. Due to
an on-going legal battle the project
stands to be delayed, Virginia and
Maryland have been fighting for
quite some time regarding which
state has rights over the Potomac
River.
We will just have to wait and see
if Colonial Beach comes out on top
again.
