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Tag: Caesars

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.

Caesars Virginia — a work in progress

Lots can change over three years and eight months.

Back in September 2020, Danville, its industrial development authority and Nevada-based Caesars Entertainment signed a development agreement naming Caesars the city’s preferred gaming operator and outlining the parties’ obligations.

Back then, Caesars budgeted $400 million to build its Caesars Virginia resort casino on the Schoolfield mill site, once a part of Danville’s bygone textiles industry. Initially, Caesars planned to hire 1,300 full-time employees.  

In May, Danville City Council members voted 8 to 1 to amend the agreement.

The biggest takeaway: the price tag for Caesars Virginia has almost doubled. It’s now a $750 million investment. 

The increase has a lot to do with the passage of time, according to Chris Albrecht, senior vice president and general manager of Caesars Virginia. 

“Some of the scope change included adding a covered parking garage, some incrementation to our hotel rooms, and then really the rest of it is just changes in construction costs and supply costs since this project started four years ago,” he explains. 

In the 2020 agreement, Caesars agreed to build 300 hotel rooms in Danville. For a while, that number shot up to 500 rooms, but developers later scaled plans back to 320 rooms.

Under the new agreement, Caesars Virginia only has to hire 900 full-time employees, who will be paid at least $31,200 a year or no less than 125% of the federal minimum wage, whichever is greater.

Caesars currently has 460 workers operating its temporary Danville casino, which opened in May 2023. In coming months, Albrecht says, he expects to hire “another 700 or so.”

Additionally, Caesars now plans to build a single multipurpose space instead of a conference center and a separate entertainment venue. For performances, the space can hold 2,500 fans. 

“So, all the things that we talked about and promised from the beginning are happening,” Albrecht says. “They’re just happening in the same room.”

Back in 2020, casino executives had planned to open Caesars Virginia in three years. The completion date listed in the contract is Dec. 31, 2024, but that date might involve some wiggle room. 

“They want it to be open by Thanksgiving,” says Ken Larking, Danville’s city manager. 

Albrecht would not confirm that. 

“When we have an exact date to put out. to the world, we will be excited to share,” he says. 

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.

July 2023 Top Five

1   |   36 Virginia companies make 2023 Fortune 1000

Thirty-six Virginia-based companies made Fortune magazine’s 69th annual Fortune 1000 list, and 24 Virginia companies made the elite Fortune 500. (June 5)

2   |   Amazon begins HQ2 move-in

Amazon.com Inc. began moving employees into the first phase of HQ2, its $2.5 billion East Coast headquarters in Arlington, the week of May 22. (May 22)

3   |   Caesars Danville opens temporary casino

Virginia’s third casino, Caesars Virginia’s 40,000-square-foot tent-like temporary casino, opened in May; the $650 million permanent resort is expected in late 2024. (May 15)

4   |   Norfolk City Council votes to purchase MacArthur Center

Council members approved plans to purchase the 23-acre downtown mall for up to $18 million. (June 7)

5  |   SCHEV director to step down

Peter Blake, long-time director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, will step down by the end of 2023. (May 18)

Lottery approves Danville Caesars casino’s license

UPDATED: April 26, 4 p.m. 

The Virginia Lottery Board approved the facility operator’s license for Danville’s $650 million Caesars Virginia casino, which is expected to open in a temporary space on May 15. It’s the third casino to receive state approval, following the Hard Rock casino in Bristol and Rivers Casino Portsmouth in Hampton Roads.

“For months, the Lottery’s Gaming Compliance Department and legal team have conducted background investigations and examined every detail of this application,” said Virginia Lottery Executive Director Kelly T. Gee. “Those investigations include not just Caesars Virginia, but all the vendors and employees as well.”

Approved by Danville voters in a November 2020 referendum, the Caesars Virginia casino is a partnership between Caesars Entertainment Inc. and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).

A temporary casino is set to open in Danville on May 15 and a permanent one in late 2024. Photo courtesy Caesars

Caesars plans to open a 40,000-square-foot temporary facility at the former Dan River Inc. Schoolfield mill site. It will have eight sportsbook betting kiosks, 740 slot machines, 25 live table games including blackjack, roulette and baccarat; and 28 electronic table games of blackjack, roulette and craps, Caesars said in a news release. A quick service restaurant, Three Stacks, will also serve customers of the temporary casino. The temporary casino will create 400 jobs.

“We’ve received an incredible outpouring of support and cooperation to get us to this day, especially from the Danville community and the surrounding areas,” Chris Albrecht, senior vice president and general manager of Danville Casino and Caesars Virginia, said in a statement. “The opening of the Danville Casino is a monumental step forward for us, and we are excited to begin welcoming guests on May 15.”

Plans for the permanent resort casino call for 500 hotel rooms, a spa, a pool, bars, a 2,500-person entertainment venue and 40,000 square feet of meeting and convention space. The casino, expected to open in late 2024, will have at least 1,300 slots, 85 live game tables, 24 electronic table games, a poker room and sportsbook.

Virginia’s first casino, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, opened in July 2022 in a temporary space at the former Bristol Mall after receiving licensing approval less than 90 days earlier. In December 2022, developers began construction nearby on the $400 million permanent Hard Rock casino, which is slated to open in July 2024. The $340 million Rivers Casino Portsmouth, which received its license in November 2022, opened its permanent space in January. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s license for the proposed $500 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino on the Elizabeth River in Norfolk is still pending state approval.

“The Virginia Lottery Board takes very seriously its statutory role overseeing casino gambling in the commonwealth,” said Lottery Board Chairman Ferhan Hamid. “All Virginians, whether or not they use these facilities, need to be aware that they are operated and regulated responsibly.”

Virginia hold ’em

The slot machines are already ringing out in Bristol and Portsmouth, where Virginia’s first commercial casinos opened during the past year.

The state’s first permanent casino, Rivers Casino Portsmouth, opened its doors on Jan. 23. Operated by Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming, the resort has 1,148 slot machines, 57 table games and 24 poker tables, as well as a sportsbook, a Topgolf “swing suite” and multiple restaurants. The casino is expected to generate $16.3 million in annual tax revenue to the city.

However, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol was first out of the gate in the race, opening a temporary facility in July 2022. Hard Rock International Inc. broke ground in December 2022 on its $400 million permanent Southwest Virginia casino, expected to open in July 2024.

During its first six weeks, Virginians and guests from 48 other states visited the temporary Hard Rock casino, a 30,000-square-foot space with 900 gaming slots and 20 tables at the former Bristol Mall. The project generated about 600 jobs, and when the permanent casino opens with a 3,200-seat theater and a 20,000-seat outdoor entertainment venue next year, the resort is expected to create 1,500 direct jobs and bring in $21 million in annual tax revenue for Bristol.

Meanwhile, the state’s two other casinos are in the works in Norfolk and Danville.

As of early February, construction had not started on the planned temporary or permanent HeadWaters Resort & Casino on the Elizabeth River. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe-led project hit some roadblocks last year after the city halted plans for a temporary casino inside Harbor Park, the Norfolk Tides’ home stadium. The tribe then announced it would build the temporary casino in the same space in the stadium’s parking lot as the $500 million permanent casino, after the city of Norfolk sold the land to the developer.

According to Jay Smith, spokesman for the casino, construction of the permanent casino and hotel will take 18 months to two years, and both facilities are expected to generate $30 million in annual gaming and sales taxes for Norfolk.

Smith said in February that the tribe hopes to reach agreement on the land sale “in the next few weeks. We look forward to breaking ground as soon as possible.”

In Danville, plans for a temporary Caesars Virginia resort at the former Dan River Inc. mill site are moving forward, with a possible midyear opening, although Caesars Entertainment Inc. officials are keeping their cards close to the vest when it comes to details. Table game dealers were set to start training in late February in preparation for the permanent resort’s opening in late 2024.

Caesars announced a partnership with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) in August 2022, with an accompanying increased investment from $400 million to $600 million. The cash influx will mean a larger hotel, growing from 300 to 500 rooms. The project will also have a 2,500-person entertainment venue and 40,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.

“Following COVID-19 pandemic closures, we found that regional gaming markets across the country recovered more quickly than anticipated,” explains Cory Blankenship, EBCI’s treasury secretary. “We are confident that market conditions — regional population, consumer demographics, proximity to other gaming markets and other variables — are favorable to support an expanded scope to the Danville project.” 

The fate of a fifth potential casino — either in Richmond or Petersburg — was still undecided as of this issue’s mid-February deadline. Richmond voters rejected a proposed Urban One Inc.-backed casino in late 2021, but city officials were pursuing a second referendum vote this fall, while Petersburg leaders were trying to bring a referendum to their ballots.

State lawmakers pulled from consideration two bills that would have opened the possibility for a casino in Northern Virginia, but the legislation could return for consideration during the 2024 General Assembly session. 

Caesars ups Danville casino investment to $650M

Caesars Entertainment Inc. has once again upped its investment in the forthcoming Caesars Virginia casino and resort  in Danville, this time from $500 million to $650 million, while announcing Wednesday that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is now a joint venture partner in the casino project.

Plans for the casino include a 500-room hotel, 1,300 slots, 85 live game tables, 24 electronic table games, a World Series of Poker-branded live poker room and a Caesars sports book. It is also slated to have a full-service spa, pool, bars, an entertainment venue that can accommodate up to 2,500 people and 40,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.

“This venture is a vital opportunity for our nation and our people. We are excited to be expanding our longstanding and successful partnership with Caesars Entertainment to develop a first-class resort that will be defined by luxury and service that Caesars’ guests have known and come to expect,” Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Richard Sneed said in a statement.

Caesars, EBCI and a local minority investor will be partners in the joint venture, according to news release.

The casino will break ground this week and is expected to be completed in late 2024.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.