Virginia Lottery passes casino gaming regulations, waits on governor approval

Casino gaming in Virginia moved forward on Wednesday with approval by the Virginia Lottery Board of proposed permanent casino gaming regulations. The regulations build upon initial emergency casino regulations previously approved by the board on Feb. 3. The proposed permanent regulations now go to the governor for approval, after which there will be a 60-day public comment period, leading up to final approval by the Lottery Board.

“The Lottery’s Gaming Compliance Department and Office of General Counsel have been diligently working to set up the regulatory and licensing framework to ensure casino gaming in Virginia is secure and transparent,” said Virginia Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall. “In this role, we see the Lottery as the public’s watchdog, confirming that the law and regulations are followed, and the integrity of casino gambling is protected.”

Currently there are four proposed land-based casinos in Virginia: Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth. Each was approved by voters in local referenda in November 2020. A fifth proposed casino, in the City of Richmond, is on a different timetable and has not yet been approved by local voters. It is expected to be on the ballot in November.

The Virginia General Assembly assigned regulatory oversight of expanded gaming in the Commonwealth to the Virginia Lottery in 2020. Expanded gaming is comprised of both land-based casinos and mobile sports wagering.

There are ten approved permit holders to provide sports betting in the commonwealth, with seven currently accepting wagers: BetMGM, BetRivers, DraftKings, FanDuel, Unibet, William Hill and WynnBET.

Current plans show land-based casinos opening as early as 2023 in the commonwealth.

Contract: Transportation of three P-8A Poseidon aircraft engines

The Naval Air Systems Command in support of the Maritime, Patrol, and Reconnaissance Aircraft Program Office is seeking quotes to fulfill the requirement for the transportation of three P-8A Poseidon aircraft engines. The three engines: one for the Royal Australian Air Force, one for New Zealand, and one for the Republic of Korea, are manufactured by CFM International.

“The contractor will be required to provide transportation/shipping of three CFM 56-7B27AE engines including engine records and logbooks, shipment trailer, engine stand, and engine cover, from CFM’s facility located in Peebles, Ohio, to Everett, Wash.,” Navy officials said in contract documents released Tuesday.

The contractor shall transport two engines in November, and there is an option that may require transport of one engine on or about July 2022. For the November shipment, two engines can be transported together on one truck, but it is unlikely and there is no guarantee that both will be available for pickup within the same seven day period, and if not, two trucks and two November shipments will be required, Navy officials said.

The selected contractor shall arrange transportation and pick up each engine at CFM's facility within seven calendar days of receipt of the notification of availability from the government. The first engine will be available on or about Nov. 15. Storage is not authorized and therefore the selected vendor will be required to pick up each engine within seven calendar days of notification that it is available and transport it to the location specified as efficiently as possible. Once picked up, the selected vendor will have seven calendar days to deliver the engine to the Everett, Wash., location.

CFM will provide the shipping base which will be attached to the engine, place the engine on the truck, and monitor the chaining and tarping of the CFM56-7 engine by the selected vendor, and then release the engine for transportation. The shipping contractor is not responsible for the unloading of the material and Boeing will assume custody of the engine from the beginning of the off load procedure. Boeing will offload the CFM56-7 engine upon arrival as Boeing has several forklifts available for this specific purpose.

Each engine has an estimated replacement cost of approximately $14 million.