Sheriff says Nash County not ready for casino

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ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WNCN) — Old Carriage Road in Rocky Mount is mostly filled with trees.

However, soon the area could be the site of slot machines, table games, and sports betting.

“You know, you got 90 million vehicles that travel that corridor of I-95 and U.S. 64. So, obviously, from a business standpoint, if I was looking for a place to put it, it would be a good place,” Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone said on Thursday.

Nash County is one of the four locations republican legislative leaders are considering legalizing additional casinos.

Right now, lawmakers are considering whether the casinos should be part of the state budget.  

However, Stone has some reservations.

CBS 17’s Nick Sturdivant: “From the sheriff’s office perspective right now, are we ready to deal with a casino?”

Sheriff Stone: “Absolutely not. I’m 15 deputies short. I had to shut down the interdiction team.  That was very instrumental in working child trafficking [and] working trafficking of drugs and fentanyl.”

He said he also had to scale back his Governor’s Highway Safety Team.

“If you’re dealing with people and money and activity you have opportunity for crime,” said Stone.

Roughly two and a half hours away, in Danville, Virginia, the Caesars temporary site is open for business.

Construction is underway on the permanent resort.

Since its opening in May, Danville police said crime and traffic haven’t been an issue. 

A spokesperson with the Danville Police Department added that there have been eight larcenies at the casino — most of them due guests leaving behind claim tickets.

While building a casino in Nash County is still in the consideration phase, Stone said he’s also considering what lies down the road.

“The first thing I would do is send my team out to other areas where casinos are. Let them spend time there on what to look for. Then we’ll work with our state and federal partners,” explained Stone.

This week, Stone asked the county to approve higher pay for his deputies to help with recruitment.

According to a Facebook post from Lee Vogler of Danville City Council, Caesars Virginia raked in more than $21 million last month. In total, the City of Danville will pocket nearly $2 million of that.