Shares of Silver Spring media company Urban One Inc. plunged Wednesday after Richmond residents voted against a referendum Tuesday that could have paved the way for the company (NASDAQ: UONE) to build a casino in the city.
The shares closed at $3.69 Wednesday, down 36% from Tuesday’s close, before the polls closed in Virginia. More than 61% of voters rejected the measure, dealing Urban One its second defeat at the polls in three years.
It’s an undeniable setback for the company, which had staked much of its future growth on the project it planned to develop in partnership with Louisville, Kentucky-based Churchill Downs Inc. (NASDAQ: CHDN).
If the $562 million casino had been built, Urban One estimated it could have generated as much as $100 million in revenue per year for the company. That’s equal to more than one-fifth of the $485 million Urban One took in last year from its TV, radio and other media properties.
