Va. casinos report $62.7M in May gaming revenues

May gaming revenues for Virginia’s three casinos totaled $62.7 million, according to Virginia Lottery data released June 14.

Last month, the Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock temporary casino reported about $15.46 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings), of which about $12.4 million came from its 891 slots, and the remaining roughly $3 million came from its 29 table games. The Bristol casino’s temporary facility opened in July 2022, making it the first operating casino in Virginia. The Virginia Lottery Board approved HR Bristol’s casino license in April 2022. The permanent Hard Rock Bristol casino’s opening has been pushed back from July to sometime in late fall. The permanent resort casino is expected to have a 303-room hotel, more than 1,500 slots, 75 table games, new dining venues and a 2,000-seat indoor entertainment venue.

After the lottery board approved its license in November 2022, Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023. In May, it generated almost $18.6 million from its 1,411 slots and close to $8.4 million from its 83 table games, for a total AGR of nearly $27 million.

The temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, which received its casino license in April 2023 and opened in May 2023, reported about $14.7 million in AGR from its 824 slots and $5.57 million from its 36 table games, totaling about $20.28 million last month. Its permanent location, which will cost about $750 million, is slated to open late this year and will include a 320-room hotel and a roughly 90,000-square-foot casino floor.

May’s casino gaming revenues were a roughly 4% increase from the $60.1 million reported in April.

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of May, taxes from casino AGRs totaled $11.29 million.

The host cities of Portsmouth and Danville received 6% of their respective casinos’ AGRs: about $1.6 million and $1.2 million, respectively. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — about $927,700 last month — goes to the Regional Improvement Commission, which the General Assembly established to distribute Bristol casino tax funds throughout Southwest Virginia.

The Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund receives 0.8% of total taxes — about $90,350 last month. The Family and Children’s Trust Fund, which funds family violence prevention and treatment programs, receives 0.2% of the monthly total, which was approximately $22,588 in May.

The other casino approved in Virginia, the $500 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino in Norfolk, remains in a holding pattern. In January, the developers — a partnership between the King William County-based Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Tennessee investor Jon Yarbrough — asked the Norfolk Architectural Review Board for an indefinite delay of the board’s review of its new plans, while the development team makes design changes requested by the city.

The casino must obtain its license from the lottery board by November 2025, or the referendum approved by Norfolk voters in 2020 becomes null and void under state law.

In Central Virginia, Petersburg is expected to hold a casino referendum in November, asking voters to approve a proposal from The Cordish Cos. that Petersburg City Council voted to endorse in April, canceling a competitive bidding process.