There are many ways to characterize Richmond politics: shrewd, calculating, personality-driven, or transactional are a few labels that come to mind.

Or is it a high-stakes chess game?

The latest political hot potato involves the high-stakes casino decision brought on last year by the narrow defeat of Urban One’s proposal by Richmond voters followed by a maneuver to have the proposal brought up again in 2022 by Richmond City voters.

But wait a minute.

There’s another plan that has gained momentum, orchestrated by Democrat Joe Morrissey who appeared to be all-in for Richmond and Urban One (he even wrote a letter to this newspaper’s editor in support of Richmond’s casino bid).

That was then. This is now.

Although Sen. Morrissey represents Richmond and Petersburg, he has shown his true colors by running to a governor (who swept into office on the coattails of Donald Trump) with the intention of smearing Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and others who fought to bring the casino to Richmond.

This edition of the Richmond Free Press provides an update about the likelihood of the casino being built in Petersburg.

Reading the article, one gets the impression that the Petersburg casino is a done deal.

But wait. There’s more.

The following letter Sen. Morrissey sent to Gov. Glenn Youngkin earlier this month makes it clear that the senator, who likes to bill himself as “A Fighter for the People,” or the more street-sounding “Fighting Joe,” has been up to the same old games that most folks familiar with him won’t find surprising.

It’s all about Joe Morrissey and no one else.

Our only question regarding Morrissey’s latest game of charades is “will the winner break the house?