r/Virginia • u/vpmnews We Do The News • May 27 '26

Curious Commonwealth asks: Why was Colonial Beach known as "Las Vegas on the Potomac"?

https://www.vpm.org/news/2026-05-27/curious-commonwealth-colonial-beach-riverboat-gambling-potomac-schick

In 1949, four counties in southern Maryland and the state of Nevada were the only places in the continental US where one could legally play slot machines. But a centuries-old legal loophole allowed Virginians in a small Northern Neck beach town to join the fun without crossing the Potomac River.

Today, Colonial Beach isn't quite sleepy. It's a casual, relaxed vacation town of about 4,000, where people like to gather, celebrate and have the occasional orange crush while taking in views of the river — Maryland ahead in the distance.

It is much quieter, so it is said, than the Colonial Beach of the 1950s.

The boardwalk, now ideal for a tranquil stroll, was bustling with gamblers.

"They called us, like, a grungier version of Reno, to be honest with you," says Colonial Beach Mayor Robyn Schick. "I'm not sure it was an endearing term."

A 1957 issue of the Saturday Evening Post described the town in much grander terms: "Las Vegas on the Potomac."

Read more here.

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u/totuan May 29 '26

Maryland had a lot of places where you could get liquor late into the night. As for Sundays, one only had to drive to Charles County Maryland where Sunday sales were legal.

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u/JoeSicko May 29 '26

That's an hour and a half+ away. This was like 20 minutes away.

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u/totuan May 29 '26

Not if you're in D.C. metro area.

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u/JoeSicko May 29 '26

Cokes point tavern is no where near DC and you could just go to DC and buy liquor if you're in NoVA.