Golden Nugget donates $1M to Virginia’s HBCUs
Free Press staff report | 9/23/2021, 6 p.m.
A $1 million donation to the five historically Black universities in Virginia.
Seeking to make a big splash, that’s the way Golden Nugget Online Gaming Inc. and its minority partner, Virginia Sports Tech- nology Group, entered the sports betting field on Wednesday.
The donation was presented at a ceremony Wednesday at Virginia Union University. The money is to be split equally —$200,000 apiece—to VUU, Virginia State, Hampton and Norfolk State universities and Virginia University of Lynchburg.
The gift to the schools coincided with the launch of Golden Nug- get’s online sports wagering in Virginia, company officials said.
According to Jeff Kelley, spokesman for the online gambling operation, Golden Nugget also has promised an annual gift to the schools of 4 percent of net gaming revenue. He stated that the yearly gift would be no less than $500,000, or $100,000 per school.
Golden Nugget lost out in the competition to build a Richmond casino and turned to sports betting to get in on the growing betting action on sporting events.
