OPINION:
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
The Pamunkey Tribe is staking a claim but not in Maryland’s Charles County, where the family of the first mayor of D.C. — Robert Brent — put down stakes before the Revolutionary War in what is now the town of Pomonkey and its environs.
Instead, the Pamunkey Tribe is brewing plans on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, where they want to get in on America’s lucrative gambling and entertainment industries by opening a gaming spot.
Pocahontas, if here, would surely blush at the ambitious nature of the plan, which in its very early stages includes a $700 million casino, entertainment venue, spa and hotel that can accommodate 1,200 rooms.
While Pocahontas eventually married John Rolfe, moved to England and converted to Christianity, she likely knew that her father Powhatan’s chiefdom encompassed much of the Chesapeake Bay area. But she couldn’t have imagined that the Pamunkey Tribe’s competition would someday be two casino resorts — one in Maryland named the MGM National Harbor and one yet-to-be-named in Virginia.
The Pamunkey tribal land in Virginia, officially named the Pamunkey Indian Reservation, covers about 1,200 acres, including 500 acres of wetlands. The tribe, however, does not want to build its casino on tribal land. (Whew.)
The tribe is not peddling architectural renderings to the media. And tribal leaders are not foisting a socially unconscious south-of-the-border push on the general public.
At this point, the tribe doesn’t even have a definitive lineup of investors. So, at best, it appears as though the Pamunkey Tribe is merely joining an amusement tradition Virginia began long ago with Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg.
Of course, push came to shove long before the MGM National Harbor opened its doors in December 2016, the same year the Pamunkey Tribe won federal recognition.
Heck, even the Congressional Black Caucus opposed the Pamunkey Tribe’s efforts on the grounds that the tribe had formerly prohibited its members from marrying blacks.
Perhaps the opportunities afforded a new gaming proposition could sway, since the Pamunkey tribal council projects 3,000 to 5,000 construction jobs, $1 billion annually for Virginia and a $200 million payroll, all during this in the era of Powhatan’s, er, President Trump’s infrastructure discussions.
Of course, additional whiners and naysayers will emerge against the Pamunkey Tribe’s gaming plans, including the usual suspects who worry about gambling addiction, prostitution and drunken driving.
Look to MGM National Harbor because so far, so good. The $50 million-plus-a-month the new gaming venue pulls in has quieted teetotalers and the jobless alike.
Besides, a Pamunkey gaming spot would be a first for Virginia, a commonwealth known for making history, eh.
• Deborah Simmons can be contacted at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
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