Urban One unwavering in casino ambition; Maryland could provide potential pathway

Article by : Charles Perrin Dec 12, 2023

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Urban One appears to remain steadfast in its ambition to develop and run a casino resort one day.

The Maryland-based media conglomerate, which caters to the black community, and boasts a plethora of TV and radio stations, has hadn’t much luck to date on the casino front.

Yes, Virginia voters in Richmond rejected Urban One’s casino pitch twice. Although the 2021 referendum was decidedly close (51-49%), the proposal last month was more of a landslide victory for the project’s opponents (62-38%).

Although Urban One has no tangible experience of owning a casino, the company divested its stake in the suburban Washington MGM National Harbor earlier this year, pocketing $136.8million from the sale.

And Urban One’s CEO Alfred Liggins wants a slice of the action, revealing the MGM investment has given them a taste for more.

He said: “It’s a great business. We made a lot of our money on our MGM investment. We made like 3.5 times our investment.

“We would absolutely look at other stuff. We’re not a venture capital fund — we’re not making a bunch of investments in startup companies.”

Potentially, Maryland could represent a route into the casino industry for Urban One.

As things stand, Maryland’s gaming law dictates the state can only have six casinos, and the last casino license was allocated to MGM.

Although gaming options were expanded in 2020 to accommodate retail and online sports betting, there has been conjecture that Maryland could throw another casino into the mix.

Despite being rebuffed in its attempts to open up shop in Virginia, Urban One is undeterred, and it firmly believes it brings plenty to the table.

Whether the dream of owning a casino is realized, only time will tell, but their ambition can’t be faulted.