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Hard Rock Bristol goes all-in for grand opening

The bright lights of Bristol shine considerably brighter following the opening of Virginia’s second full-fledged casino.

The Nov. 14 grand opening of the $515 million-plus Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, Virginia’s first hotel/casino combo, was grand indeed. Symphonies of sounds, from music to slot machines, indicated the site’s time for business had arrived.

“This brand is now 54 years old, [with] 60,000 employees in 74 countries,” says Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen. “I hope we have collectively created something that everyone is proud of.”

Located near downtown Bristol, the casino resort’s dominant features include a 45-foot-tall guitar at the entrance to the 303-room (including 56 suites) concave-shaped hotel. The 620,000-square-foot facility opened with the Hard Rock tradition of The Who-like smashing of guitars inside Hard Rock Live Bristol, an indoor flexible capacity venue that can seat up to 2,000 people.

There’s a spa in the hotel, nearly 1,500 slot machines in the casino, 38,000 original miles on Faith Hill’s vintage Rudolph red Corvette on the casino floor, 50 table games, and countless grins on the faces of those who made the place happen.

“It was a moonshot,” says Jim McGlothlin, chairman of Bristol-based United Co. The Bristol Hard Rock was developed through a joint venture between Hard Rock, McGlothlin and Par Ventures President Clyde Stacy. “With Hard Rock, we went to work in Bristol. We’re changing a lot of lives here.”

The new resort casino replaces the temporary Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock, which opened in July 2022 as Virginia’s first operating casino. Since then, a permanent facility in Portsmouth and a temporary casino in Danville have opened. Located inside the former Bristol Mall, the 30,000-square-foot temporary casino featured 900 slot machines, 29 table games and a sportsbook. In its first year of operation, the temporary Bristol casino’s net gaming revenues totaled $157 million.

Today, Hard Rock Bristol maintains about 1,400 permanent jobs.

The development team previously pushed back the opening of the permanent casino at 500 Gate City Highway, which had been expected in July, in favor of opening the full casino resort, the nation’s eighth Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Adults grinned like children at a theme park on opening day. Their enthusiasm was music to the ears of McGlothlin and his Hard Rock brethren.

“It’s Bristol, baby!” McGlothlin says. “The casino is our winning lottery number.” 

Permanent Hard Rock Bristol casino opens

The bright lights of Bristol shine considerably brighter now following the opening of Virginia’s second full-fledged casino.

Thursday heralded the grand opening of the $515 million-plus Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, Virginia’s first hotel/casino combo. Symphonies of sounds, from music to slot machines, indicated the site’s time for business had arrived.

“This brand is now 54 years old, [with] 60,000 employees in 74 countries,” said Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International. “I hope we have collectively created something that everyone is proud of.”

Located near downtown Bristol, the casino resort’s dominant features include a 45-foot-tall guitar at the entrance to the 303-room (including 56 suites) concave-shaped hotel. The 620,000-square-foot facility opened with the Hard Rock tradition of The Who-like smashing of guitars inside Hard Rock Live Bristol, an indoor flexible capacity venue that can seat up to 2,000 people.

There’s a spa in the hotel, nearly 1,500 slot machines in the casino, 38,000 original miles on Faith Hill’s vintage Rudolph red Corvette on the casino floor, and countless grins on the faces of those who made the place happen.

“It was a moonshot,” said Jim McGlothlin, chairman of Bristol-based United Co. A joint venture between Hard Rock, McGlothlin and Par Ventures President Clyde Stacy developed Bristol’s Hard Rock.

“With Hard Rock, we went to work in Bristol,” McGlothlin added. “We’re changing a lot of lives here.”

The new resort casino replaces the temporary Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock, which opened in July 2022 as Virginia’s first operating casino. Since then, a permanent facility in Portsmouth and a temporary casino in Danville have opened. Located inside the former Bristol Mall, the 30,000-square-foot temporary casino featured 900 slot machines, 29 table games and a sportsbook.

Today, Hard Rock Bristol maintains about 1,400 permanent jobs, nearly 1,500 slots and 50 table games.

“Today is the day we go from operating a casino to operating a Hard Rock,” said Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol President Allie Evangelista.

The development team previously pushed back the opening of the permanent casino at 500 Gate City Highway, which had been expected in July, in favor of opening the full casino resort, the nation’s eighth Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

TN Ward and BurWil Construction are the contractors for the Bristol Hard Rock project. Some construction work remains to be done, which will increase the team’s capital investment, Evangelista said Tuesday, adding, “Right now, I think it’s at $515 million, but we’re not done.”

In its first year of operation, the temporary Bristol casino’s net gaming revenues totaled $157 million, while the Rivers Casino Portsmouth, which opened in January 2023, made almost $250 million in gaming revenue during its first year. The temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville opened May 2023; in its first six months, the Danville casino racked up about $145 million in gaming revenue.

In 2023, Virginia casinos generated $554.87 million in adjusted gaming revenues, based on monthly reports from Virginia Lottery. The Bristol casino represented $160.49 million of the annual total.

Virginia’s three casinos reported a total of $56.56 million in gaming revenues for September. Of that, about $14.09 million came from the temporary Bristol casino.

Thus far, the Bristol Hard Rock has paid more than $68 million in taxes to the state government and has hosted more than 3 million guests.

Marcellus Osceola Jr., chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which acquired Hard Rock in 2007, said the company takes pride in the incorporation of local flavor within their properties. “We pride ourselves in immersing ourselves in a community,” Osceola said. “We love all — we serve all. That’s our motto.”

Love, in the form of music, abounds inside Bristol’s Hard Rock. Myriad examples of Bristol, Virginia, and Tennessee music history are displayed throughout the site.

“That’s very important to us,” Evangelista said. “We want to connect with Bristol because it is the Birthplace of Country Music.”

A hallway connects the casino and dining area. One side of the hall depicts musicians from Virginia. The other, Tennessee. There’s a framed autograph from Winchester’s Patsy Cline and an autographed album from Castlewood’s 49 Winchester.

Labyrinths of music memorabilia weave like straw through the Hard Rock Café and casino to form basketfuls of iconic imagery. Examine Glen Campbell’s guitar where it resides near Hard Rock Live. Marvel at Bob Dylan’s harmonica. Lean in and read the details on Johnny Cash’s passport.

“I loved the Ozzy Osbourne display,” said Ali Randolph, a country musician from Burnsville, North Carolina. “Old school metal; you can’t beat it.”

Randolph will perform at the Hard Rock Café Bristol on Nov. 27. There are four stages for live music — rock and otherwise — within the complex.

“Hard Rock is not just about rock music,” Evangelista said. “We have about $1 million of music memorabilia on site.”

Then again, Hard Rock earned its name because it does rock — at least on occasion. Grand opening night features country music star Blake Shelton at Hard Rock Live Bristol. Rock veterans Soul Asylum, purveyors of such 1990s generational hits as “Runaway Train,” appear in the 23,000-square-foot venue on Saturday.

“We’ll be there for the grand opening, the christening of the Hard Rock in Bristol,” Dave Pirner, lead singer of Soul Asylum, said by phone on Monday from an airport in Minneapolis.

Hard Rock features more than gaming and music. Seven restaurants, from the fine dining of Council Oak Steaks & Seafood to the finger food of Street Tacos, occupy various spaces on the outer edges of the casino.

An Appalachian merry-go-round, adults grinned like children in a cotton candy glow on opening day. That was music to perk the ears of McGlothlin and his Hard Rock brethren.

“It’s Bristol, baby!” McGlothlin said. “The casino is our winning lottery number.”

Associate Editor Katherine Schulte contributed to this article.

Electro-Mechanical launches $16.5M expansion in Washington County

Electro-Mechanical — an electrical equipment manufacturer headquartered in Bristol — will invest $16.55 million to expand in Washington County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday. 

“Electro-Mechanical’s significant expansion in Washington County demonstrates the strength of Southwest Virginia’s manufacturing sector and business climate,” Youngkin stated in a news release.

The company plans to add a 200,000-square-foot facility in Washington County, creating over 109 jobs, according to the governor’s office. Electro-Mechanical hopes to complete the expansion in 2025, according to spokespeople for the company. 

Electro-Mechanical also has three manufacturing facilities in Bristol, one in Canada and another in Mexico, they noted. About 520 of the company’s 700 employees work in Bristol.

“We are excited to once again be expanding our Bristol, Virginia, operations,” Howard Broadfoot, president and CEO of Electro-Mechanical, said in a statement. “We have experienced tremendous growth in our business over the past several years and this additional manufacturing capacity will allow us to better serve our customers for years to come.”

Electro-Mechanical’s roots date to 1958 when Frank Leonard opened an electrical apparatus repair shop on Bristol’s Williams Street, according to a company timeline.

Initially, the business primarily served the textile industry, but when a major client went out of business in the late 1960s, Electric Motor Repair and Sales refocused its business on serving the region’s mining industry. In 1971, the company changed its name to Electro-Mechanical and launched Line Power, a division providing electrical distribution and control apparatus.

Electro-Mechanical purchased Federal Pacific Transformer in 1986 and moved the company from Chicago to Bristol. That division offers dry-type transformers and medium-voltage switchgear.

Graycliff Partners, a New York investment firm, purchased Electro-Mechanical in 2021. The next year, Electro-Mechanical acquired Mirus International, a Canadian manufacturer of specialized power quality improvement products.

Graycliff Partners sold Electro-Mechanical to funds managed by California’s Oaktree Capital Management in March.

Virginia competed with Tennessee for the Electro-Mechanical expansion. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Washington County to secure the project for Virginia.

Youngkin approved a $300,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund, a state incentive to spur economic development, to assist Washington County with the project. Additionally, Electro-Mechanical is eligible for state benefits through the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, a state and local government partnership designed to promote job creation and investment. The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, created by VEDP in collaboration with higher education participants, will provide recruitment and training services. 

Va. casinos report $56.56M in September revenue

Gaming revenues for Virginia’s three casinos totaled $56.56 million in September, according to data the Virginia Lottery released Tuesday.

Last month, the Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock reported about $14.09 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings), of which about $11.68 million came from its 905 slots and about $2.4 million from its 29 table games. The Virginia Lottery Board approved HR Bristol’s casino license in April 2022, and the Bristol casino’s temporary facility opened in July 2022, making it the first operating casino in Virginia. The permanent casino resort’s opening is scheduled for Nov. 14.

After the lottery board approved its license in November 2022, Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023. In September, the casino generated more than $17.85 million from its 1,419 slots and over $6.35 million from its 85 table games, for a total AGR of $24.2 million.

The temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, which received its casino license in April 2023 and opened in May 2023, reported $18.25 million in AGR last month. Approximately $13.49 million of that came from its 826 slots, and more than $4.76 million came from its 36 table games. The $750 million permanent facility is set to open late this year.

September’s casino gaming revenues were a 10% decrease from the $63.1 million reported for August.

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of September, taxes from casino AGRs totaled about $11.39 million.

Under Virginia law, 6% of a casino operator’s AGR goes to its host locality until the operator passes $200 million in AGR for the year, at which point the host locality’s tax rate rises to 7%. If an operator passes $400 million in AGR in the calendar year, that rises to 8%.

For September, Portsmouth received 7% of the Rivers Casino Portsmouth’s AGR, getting more than $1.69 million. Danville received 6% of the Caesars Virginia casino’s adjusted gaming revenue, amounting to roughly $1.09 million. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — $845,470 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 $91,136 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 $22,784 in September.

Also on Tuesday, the team behind the delayed Norfolk casino — which has had a change in ownership and in name — announced it would hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the casino on Oct. 30. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe remains a partner, but Boyd Gaming replaced Tennessee investor Jon Yarbrough. The entities have scrapped the name HeadWaters Resort & Casino and referred to it as the Norfolk Casino Resort in Tuesday’s announcement.

In Central Virginia, Petersburg will hold a casino referendum on this fall’s ballots, asking voters to approve the proposed $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia project.

Hard Rock Bristol to open permanent facility Nov. 14

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol will open its approximately $515 million permanent facility on Nov. 14, with country music star Blake Shelton making an appearance at the ceremony, its development team announced Wednesday.

The temporary Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock opened July 8, 2022, making it Virginia’s first operating casino. Since then, two other casinos in Danville and Portsmouth have opened.

The development team — a joint venture between Hard Rock, Par Ventures President Clyde Stacy and The United Co. Chairman Jim McGlothlin — previously pushed back the opening of the permanent casino, which had been expected in July, to an unspecified time in “late fall,” in favor of opening the full casino resort.

The casino, located at 500 Gate City Highway, will open at noon on Nov. 14 with a grand opening ceremony that will include a concert by “The Voice” coach Shelton at the Hard Rock Live entertainment venue.

McGlothlin and Stacy said in a joint statement: “The opening of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol is such a pivotal milestone for the city of Bristol and our entire Tri-Cities region across Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. This project has created new jobs and generated additional tax revenue, serving as an economic engine and bringing hope to our community.”

The permanent, 620,000-square-foot casino resort will have almost 1,500 slots, more than 50 table games, a 303-room hotel, a 2,000-seat indoor entertainment venue and dining venues, including a Hard Rock Cafe, Council Oak Steaks & Seafood and YouYu Asian Dining, as well as a Hard Rock coffee and pastry shop brand, Constant Grind, and Marketplace, an area housing Fish & Chicken Co., Brick’d Italian Kitchen and Street Tacos.

“We are thrilled to open Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol,” Jon Lucas, Hard Rock International’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Hard Rock’s rich history fits perfectly with Bristol’s distinction as the ‘Birthplace of Country Music.’ … With this property, Bristol — and the entire region — have a new major entertainment destination.”

The Bristol Hard Rock currently has 791 employees and expects to hire about 1,400 employees in all for the full resort. Hard Rock doesn’t have a set timeline for its hiring goal but expects to reach the 1,400-employee total “in the months ahead,” according to a spokesperson.

The 30,000-square-foot temporary facility in the former Bristol Mall has about 900 slots, 29 table games and a sportsbook. It also has a restaurant, Mr. Lucky’s, and a sports bar that will close when the permanent casino opens.

In its first year of operation, the temporary casino made $157 million in net gaming revenues. The casino hosted visitors from across the nation during its first six months of operation, Allie Evangelista, president of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, told Virginia Business earlier this year.

Since its opening, the temporary Bristol Casino has had more than 3 million visitors, paid more than $66 million in gaming taxes to the state, donated more than $960,000 to support local nonprofits and paid more than $260 million in jackpots, according to a news release.

TN Ward and BurWil Construction form the construction team for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol.

The extended timeline follows a 2024-26 budget amendment directing the Virginia Lottery to renew, before June 30, temporary casino operators’ authorizations to conduct gaming for an additional six months beyond the previously codified two-year limit, provided certain conditions are met.

The conditions in the amendment are that:

  • A portion of the temporary gaming facility will be incorporated as part of the permanent facility;
  • the preferred casino operator has met the $300 million minimum capital investment;
  • and the Virginia Lottery “determined that the preferred casino gaming operator has made a good faith effort to comply with the approved construction schedule.”

Va. casinos report $63.1M in August revenues

August gaming revenues for Virginia’s three casinos totaled $63.1 million, according to Virginia Lottery data released in September. 

Last month, the Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock temporary casino reported about $15.94 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings), of which about $13.29 million came from its 905 slots, and the remaining roughly $2.65 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 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 June, it generated about $19.19 million from its 1,378 slots and about $7.46 million from its 85 table games, for a total AGR of close to $26.65 million.

The temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, which received its casino license in April 2023 and opened in May 2023, reported about $15.63 million in AGR from its 826 slots and about $4.85 million from its 36 table games, totaling about $20.48 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.

August’s casino gaming revenues were a roughly 6.4% increase from the $59.3 million reported in July. 

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of August, taxes from casino AGRs totaled about $11.77 million.

The host cities of Portsmouth and Danville received 6% of their respective casinos’ AGRs: about $1.68 million and $1.23 million, respectively. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — more than $956,400 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 — more than $94,000 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 $23,530 in August.

Plans are once again moving forward for the delayed Norfolk casino. On Sept. 10, Norfolk City Council voted 7-1 Tuesday to approve a development agreement between the city, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Boyd Gaming, which replaces Tennessee investor Jon Yarbrough as the King William County tribe’s corporate partner.

In paperwork filed with the city, the partners have scrapped the casino’s old name, HeadWaters Resort & Casino, and provided a timeline to start construction of a temporary casino and a permanent structure within a few weeks of each other in early 2025. A new name for the facility has not been announced. 

In Central Virginia, Petersburg will hold a casino referendum on this fall’s ballots, asking voters to approve casino gaming. During an April meeting, the Petersburg City Council voted to endorse a proposal from The Cordish Cos., canceling a competitive bidding process.

Va. casino gaming revenues total $59.3M in July

Casino gaming revenues for Virginia’s three casinos totaled $59.3 million in July, according to Virginia Lottery data released Thursday.

Also, the $500 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino in Norfolk, which has been in a holding pattern for the past several months, could be moving forward. The Norfolk Architectural Review Board will discuss new renderings for the casino and resort at its Aug. 19 meeting.

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 made design changes requested by the city. The casino operators must receive Norfolk City Council’s OK before proceeding with construction, following the architecture review board’s recommendation.

Approved by voters in November 2020, the Norfolk casino also must obtain its license from the lottery board by November 2025, or the referendum becomes null and void under state law. City officials have indicated earlier this year they could move forward on a casino project with different developers if the 2025 deadline is not met.

Meanwhile, the state’s three active casinos reported steady revenue in July. The month’s casino gaming revenues were a less than 3% decline from the $59.5 million reported for June. Earlier this month, the Virginia Lottery reported a record $5.5 billion in sales for fiscal 2024 and record profit of $934 million.

Last month, the Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock temporary casino reported about $14.84 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings), of which about $11.69 million came from its 915 slots and the remaining roughly $3.15 million came from its 29 table games. The Virginia Lottery Board approved HR Bristol’s casino license in April 2022, and the Bristol casino’s temporary facility opened in July 2022, making it the first operating casino in Virginia. The permanent Hard Rock Bristol casino’s opening was pushed back from July to sometime in late fall.

After the lottery board approved its license in November 2022, Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023. In July, the Portsmouth casino generated about $18.26 million from its 1,389 slots and about $7.43 million from its 85 table games, for a total AGR of $25.69 million.

The temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, which received its casino license in April 2023 and opened in May 2023, generated about $18.8 million in revenue last month. Almost $14.39 million of that came from its 826 slots, and about $4.4 million from its 36 table games.

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of July, taxes from casino AGRs totaled about $10.68 million.

The host cities of Portsmouth and Danville received 6% of their respective casinos’ AGRs: about $1.5 million and $1.1 million, respectively. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — about $890,500 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 $85,450 for July. 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 $21,360 in July.

In Central Virginia, Petersburg has received approval for its casino referendum to appear on this fall’s ballots, asking voters to approve a proposal from The Cordish Cos. that Petersburg City Council endorsed in April, canceling a competitive bidding process. On Thursday, Bruce Smith Enterprise and Cordish announced the opening of their campaign office in Petersburg, as they prepare to get out the vote for the project.

Va. casinos report $59.5M in June revenues

June gaming revenues for Virginia’s three casinos totaled $59.5 million, according to Virginia Lottery data released July 15.

June numbers broke a three-month streak in which the casinos brought in combined totals of more than $60 million, casinos.com noted this week. 

Last month, the Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock temporary casino reported about $14.35 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings), of which about $12.04 million came from its 907 slots, and the remaining roughly $2.31 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 June, it generated about $17.96 million from its 1,417 slots and about $7.98 million from its 84 table games, for a total AGR of close to $25.95 million.

The temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, which received its casino license in April 2023 and opened in May 2023, reported about $14.03 million in AGR from its 826 slots and about $5.19 million from its 36 table games, totaling about $19.22 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.

June’s casino gaming revenues were a roughly 5.1% decrease from the $62.7 million reported in May.

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of June, taxes from casino AGRs totaled about $10.71 million.

The host cities of Portsmouth and Danville received 6% of their respective casinos’ AGRs: about $1.56 million and $1.15 million, respectively. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — about $861,000 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 $85,700 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 $21,424 in May.

All three of Virginia’s casinos have now been open a full year. Gaming revenue for June 2024 increased 14% from June 2023’s combined total of $52.2 million, according to casinos.com.Rivers Casino Portsmouth saw the sharpest increase in revenue year-over-year, bringing in 26% more revenue in June 2024 than June 2023, casinos.com noted. Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock saw a 12.9% increase while Caesars Virginia saw a 1.5% increase. 

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 will hold a casino referendum in November, asking voters to approve casino gaming. During an April meeting, the Petersburg City Council voted to endorse  a proposal from The Cordish Cos. canceling a competitive bidding process.

   

 

Bristol casino ups the ante for opening

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol’s development team has pushed back the opening of the permanent casino, previously expected in July, and will instead open the approximately $515 million permanent casino resort in late fall.

The team — a joint venture between Hard Rock, Par Ventures President Clyde Stacy and The United Co. Chairman Jim McGlothlin — announced the change in plans June 5.

“I think sometimes people forget [Hard Rock is] not just a casino company,” says Allie Evangelista, president of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol. “And that’s why we’re not so focused on rushing into opening a casino floor, because we really want people to see us for who we are as an entertainment and hospitality business.”

The temporary Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock opened July 8, 2022, becoming Virginia’s first operating casino. The 30,000-square-foot casino in the
former Bristol Mall has about 900 slots, 29 table games and a sportsbook. It also has a restaurant, a sports bar and lounge, and a grab-and-go food outlet.

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.

“As a business, for us, this is a lot more exciting because we were opening a casino floor rather than opening the full Hard Rock experience,” says Evangelista, “and being able to open everything at once … allows us to really have a great first impression.”

Plus, she says, guests won’t experience construction-related disruptions.

Now that the full casino resort will open all at once, rather than in phases, “we believe the construction is redoing their timeline, because you don’t have to [put up] temporary wall things, [and] you don’t have to go around operations, so we believe we can pick up some time,” says Evangelista. The developers are waiting for the construction team — TN Ward and BurWil Construction — to provide a more specific timeframe.

The extended timeline follows a 2024-2026 state budget amendment that allowed temporary casino operators who met certain conditions to conduct gaming for six additional months past the previously codified two-year limit.

As of June 7, the Bristol Hard Rock had 619 employees, and 200 more people were set to onboard once they acquired their Virginia Lottery licenses. The resort’s full employment goal is 1,400 employees, Evangelista says.   

Hard Rock Bristol delays permanent casino opening

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol’s development team has pushed back the opening of the permanent casino, previously expected in July, and will instead open its approximately $515 million permanent casino resort in late fall.

The team — a joint venture between Hard Rock, Par Ventures President Clyde Stacy and The United Co. Chairman Jim McGlothlin — said in a news release Wednesday that it expects the project’s completion in late fall.

“I think sometimes people forget [Hard Rock is] not just a casino company,” Allie Evangelista, president of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, said Friday. “And that’s why we’re not so focused on rushing into opening a casino floor, because we really want people to see us for who we are as an entertainment and hospitality business.”

The temporary Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock opened July 8, 2022, making it Virginia’s first operating casino. The temporary 30,000-square-foot casino in the former Bristol Mall has about 900 slots, 29 table games and a sportsbook. It also has a restaurant, Mr. Lucky’s, as well as a sports bar and lounge, and a grab-and-go food outlet.

In its first year of operation, the temporary casino made $157 million in net gaming revenues. The casino hosted visitors from across the nation during its first six months of operation, Evangelista told Virginia Business earlier this year.

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.

“As a business, for us, this is a lot more exciting because we were opening a casino floor rather than opening the full Hard Rock experience,” said Evangelista, “and being able to open everything at once … allows us to really have a great first impression.”

It also means that the resort will not be a construction site, she added, so guests won’t experience disruptive construction noise — particularly important for hotel guests’ stays — and interruptions in operations like power outages.

“There’ll be probably like a few weeks between the time that we are fully operating in the permanent [casino] that we’ll be doing some work to install some of the games that we have currently operating on the new floor and things like that, but there won’t be any downtime or any impact to the guests,” Evangelista said.

Now that the full casino resort will open all at once, rather than in phases, “we believe the construction is redoing their timeline, because you don’t have to [put up] temporary wall things, [and] you don’t have to go around operations, so we believe we can pick up some time,” said Evangelista. “We really don’t have a timeline; we’re just going with fall until they’re able to give us a more precise date on how much time they can pick up from not having to open in July.”

TN Ward and BurWil Construction form the construction team for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol.

Hard Rock is continuing with some openings that were scheduled for July, though. It will open a few of its permanent food options next month, according to Evangelista. A former pizza restaurant is under renovation and will open as Constant Grind, a Hard Rock coffee and pastry shop brand. An area upstairs, leading up to the new casino floor, has been dubbed Marketplace, and it will open with Fish & Chicken Co., Brick’d Italian Kitchen and Street Tacos.

Mr. Lucky’s will stay open until the permanent casino opens, and the existing sports bar will close then. In addition to Constant Grind and the Marketplace options, the permanent casino’s dining venues will include Hard Rock Cafe, Council Oak Steakhouse and YouYu Noodle Bar.

The extended timeline follows a 2024-2026 budget amendment directing the Virginia Lottery to renew, before June 30, temporary casino operators’ authorizations to conduct gaming for an additional six months beyond the previously codified two-year limit, provided certain conditions are met.

The conditions in the amendment are that:

  • A portion of the temporary gaming facility will be incorporated as part of the permanent facility;
  • the preferred casino operator has met the $300 million minimum capital investment;
  • and the Virginia Lottery “determined that the preferred casino gaming operator has made a good faith effort to comply with the approved construction schedule.”

More than 600 construction workers are on site daily, according to a news release. Because Hard Rock was preparing the permanent casino for a July opening, the casino floor has slot machines, cameras, lighting and carpet installed and cages ready, Evangelista said.

The hotel is built, and the walls and window installations are complete. Almost all of its bathrooms are completed, she said. Workers are pouring the flooring for the front desk area.

The resort’s 2,000-seat entertainment venue, Hard Rock Live, is built out and enclosed, and work continues on the inside, according to Evangelista.

The Bristol Hard Rock currently has 619 employees, Evangelista said. An additional 200 people have accepted job offers and will come onboard as each acquires the necessary Virginia Lottery license.

From now until the end of the year, the team will continue hiring, with a goal of reaching about 1,400 employees for the full resort, Evangelista said.