For a historically conservative state that has resisted the neon allure of casinos, Virginia seems headed for a gaming boom.
And New Kent County, a rural but growing area east of Richmond that is home to almost 22,000 people, may be the epicenter.
This week, a new owner bought the shuttered Colonial Downs horse-racing track in New Kent County, with the goal of reopening the facility in 2019.
Revolutionary Racing, the Chicago-based group that bought the track for more than $20 million, hasn't revealed its plans for bringing live racing back to the state's only track with pari-mutuel wagering. But the sale may not have happened if the General Assembly hadn't voted this year to allow a major expansion of gambling at Colonial Downs and off-track betting sites throughout Virginia.
Revolutionary Racing's plan is built around historical horse race wagering machines, terminals that look and feel like a slot machine but, instead of being powered by random luck, are connected to an archive of past horse races.
The new type of electronic gaming, also known as instant racing, may simulate the feel of a casino, but the real thing could be coming just a few miles away.
The Pamunkey Indian Tribe, which won federal recognition as a sovereign entity in 2015 after a 33-year battle, has gone public with its plan to open a $700 million casino resort. The tribe says it's looking for possible sites throughout eastern and central Virginia, but they've identified 600 acres in New Kent as an initial option.
The groups behind the two projects are watching each other closely due to the potential competition for gambling dollars.
Revolutionary Racing is off to a head start after successfully persuading the Republican-led General Assembly to pass legislation allowing historical race wagering.
The Pamunkey Tribe, which wants to open its casino within five years, may face a tougher battle if it has to seek the legislature's blessing.
House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, who opposed the bill tied to Colonial Downs, said he flatly opposes casinos.
"I do not believe opening the commonwealth to casino gambling is in the state's long-term best interests," Cox said in a statement. "I will continue to strongly oppose casino gambling and will encourage my colleagues to oppose it as well."
Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, has said Virginia should be open to the idea of casinos, especially given the arrival of the MGM National Harbor casino just across the Potomac River in Maryland. A Northam spokesman said Friday that it's too early to comment any specific proposal, but the governor is "open to a conversation about keeping that revenue in the commonwealth."
"He would certainly want there to be significant deliberations and public input on that before we move forward," said Northam spokesman Brian Coy.
Both projects have procedural hurdles to clear before moving forward. Here's what to expect:
Colonial Downs
State and local officials have hailed the Colonial Downs purchase as a major win for the horse industry and New Kent, one that seemed unlikely amid the bitterness that followed the track's closure in 2014.
"We've moved from what most people thought was impossible to 'goal achieved' in about 12 months," said D.G. Van Clief Jr., chairman of the Virginia Racing Commission.
"We're excited about the tourism opportunities,” said New Kent County Administrator Rodney Hathaway. "That’s great for the economy."
The desperation to reopen Colonial Downs helped the bill to allow historical horse racing machines pass the General Assembly, but it now falls to the racing commission to decide how many machines to allow. Those regulations will also cover how to handle expanding gambling at the state's off-track betting sites in Richmond, Henrico County, Chesapeake and outside Martinsville.
Van Clief said the commission will be studying historical racing regulations in Kentucky and other states that allow the technology, with the goal of having a set of regulations ready to approve when the new law takes effect in July.
Before Revolutionary Racing can get up and running, the company will have to obtain a new license from the commission. Van Clief said he expects to receive an application "in the near future."
"Right now we're in passive mode," he said.
Tribal casino
The Pamunkey casino is the more conceptual of the two projects, and the tribe's representatives are quick to caution that their development may or may not happen in New Kent.
With financial backing from gaming billionaire Jon Yarbrough, the tribe is planning a variety of economic development projects, including senior living, health care facilities and a museum.
Though the land the tribe has secured in New Kent is one potential casino site, the tribe expects to announce more land acquisitions in the coming months.
Once the Pamunkeys have assembled their real estate portfolio, they'll approach the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs for approval to take the land into trust, essentially adding it to their existing reservation in King William County.
The timeline for that process is unclear. Other gaming interests - including MGM, which opposed the tribe's push for federal recognition - could intervene to try to block the land acquisition. And it remains to be seen how the administration of President Donald Trump - who once sued the federal government to try to block Native American casinos that competed with his own - will handle proposed expansions of Indian gaming.
If the Pamunkeys receive the necessary federal approvals, the tribe will likely have to enter into a compact with the state. That could involve negotiating a deal to give the government a cut of the casino's revenue in exchange for exceptions to the state's anti-gambling laws and assurances that the state won't throw open its doors to more casinos.
With all General Assembly seats up for election next year, legislative attitudes toward casinos could change before the Pamunkeys lobby for any legislation. Republicans hold slim majorities in the House and the Senate, and Democrats are optimistic about their chances to flip the chambers to their control.
It's not clear what kind of local approvals might be necessary. Hathaway, the New Kent administrator, said he's researching the issue, but it doesn't appear a local casino referendum would be necessary.
"There's some discussion that needs to be had before we're in a position to make any formal comment," he said.