Securing pre-certification is a required step before each of the above-mentioned cities could ask a Circuit Court for permission to put a casino question before city voters on the November 3 ballot. The Portsmouth casino plan (along with the other three) obtained its pre-certification following a preliminary review by the state Lottery Board. The other three were plans for casinos in Bristol, Danville, and Norfolk. The proposed gambling venue was one of four similar projects that were pre-certified by the Virginia Lottery Board earlier this month. The resort will be called Rivers Casino Portsmouth and will be located at Victory Boulevard, south of Interstate 264.

The Virginia City of Portsmouth and its preferred casino operator, Rush Street Gaming, released this week the first renderings of a proposed $300 million casino, hotel, and conference complex.