Norfolk casino hires general manager

Ron Bailey has been selected as vice president and general manager for Norfolk’s forthcoming casino, its operators announced Monday.

He most recently was vice president and general manager of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in Pennsylvania, which is owned by Boyd Gaming, a partner in the $750 million Norfolk resort with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe.

Construction of the permanent Norfolk casino started earlier this year, and a temporary casino is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Bailey, who will live in the Hampton Roads area, will oversee the development of the casino, as well as hiring employees and engaging with the community.

Bailey has worked in the gaming industry for 25 years and joined Nevada-based Boyd Gaming in 2012. He held senior leadership positions at casinos in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Las Vegas, and he was director of Gaylord Entertainment’s National Harbor hotel in Maryland as well. He expects to move to Virginia in March.

“Once I get up and running, I’ll have weekly meetings with the tribe and the chief, and make sure that this can be a great collaboration,” Bailey said in an interview with Virginia Business. “We’re very committed to hiring within the Hampton Roads area. I think there are going to be a lot of jobs that are going to be available, and we’re going to be pushing toward interviewing folks in this area to take those jobs. The tribe’s committed to that.”

He said the resort will be training slot machine tech workers who will be working in the transitional casino, as well as a dealer school that will train people to run table games once the permanent casino is open. Bailey said the team is working now to determine how many people will be hired for the temporary casino later this year.

Virginia Beach’s S.B. Ballard Construction and Mississippi-based Yates Construction are leading construction of the resort casino, after building Rivers Casino Portsmouth. The permanent Norfolk casino is expected to be completed in late 2027.

The resort was approved by Norfolk voters in fall 2020, but building was delayed due to conflicts between the Norfolk City Council and the operators over the design plans. An earlier partnership between the Pamunkey tribe and Tennessee investor Jon Yarbrough ended last year, and Boyd Gaming entered the picture. In September 2024, Norfolk City Council approved the development agreement between the city, the tribe and Boyd, and since then, the project has moved forward.

The permanent resort is set to have a 45,000-square-foot deck, 13,000 square feet of meeting space, 4,000 square feet of spa and gym space, 1,500 slot machines, 50 table games, a 200-room hotel, and eight food and beverage outlets.

Virginia has three operating casinos in Danville, Bristol and Portsmouth, and Petersburg voters approved a referendum last fall to build Cordish Cos.’ $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel. Last month, city officials approved zoning permits for site development work on that multi-phase project.