This November, Petersburg voters will decide the fate of a highly anticipated casino development that could transform the city’s struggling economy. If approved, the proposed $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia project will be built on an undeveloped 100-acre site off Interstate 95, offering easy access to East Coast travelers.
“I have worked for over two years to give Petersburg residents this once-in-a-generation opportunity,” says Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham. “We are one of the most fiscally distressed cities in the commonwealth, and this will give the city that revenue shot it has needed for quite some time.”
The proposed project is a joint venture between Baltimore-based real estate developer The Cordish Cos. and Bruce Smith Enterprise, a Virginia Beach-based development firm led by Norfolk native and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith.
If approved, the casino’s first phase will span 200,000 square feet, featuring 1,000 slot machines and 23 table games. The full 400,000-square-foot project, to be completed two years after approvals, would include a 200-room hotel, 1,600 slot machines, 46 live-action table games, a 3,000-seat entertainment venue and eight food and entertainment establishments, three of which would be reserved for Petersburg businesses.
“Virginia is home for me, and I take my commitment to improve my communities and create jobs very seriously,” says Smith, noting that the development’s creation of 1,500 jobs with average salaries of $70,000 would significantly raise the city’s median household income, which was approximately $47,000 in 2022. The casino would bring in an estimated $240 million in local tax revenue in the first 10 years.
Nevertheless, the selection process for the development team was controversial. Just before the Virginia General Assembly approved Petersburg as the commonwealth’s fifth approved locality to host a casino, the city manager signed a letter of intent naming Bally’s as the city’s choice
of casino operator, setting off questions about potential political pressure. A week later, city officials abruptly reversed the decision in favor of Cordish, a choice Parham stands by as best for the city.
“Petersburg first” is the slogan of the development team, which has set up a local campaign office and scheduled vendor fairs in anticipation of a favorable vote. “We will work to help smaller contractors partner with larger contractors so they can get the kind of work that’s meaningful,” says Zed Smith, Cordish’s chief operating officer.
Norfolk will have a temporary casino open by next November and a permanent resort in 2027 if all goes to plan, as the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and casino giant Boyd Gaming, its new corporate partner, received a fresh start on the long-delayed project from Norfolk City Council on Tuesday.
City Council members and the mayor 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.
Council member Andria McClellan was the sole no-voter Tuesday. She said that the larger casino proposed in 2020 was now smaller, and that some of her concerns, including public safety costs, had not yet been addressed.
The temporary casino is expected to meet the state’s deadline of November 2025, by which time a casino must be built and licensed by the Virginia Lottery under state law. According to paperwork filed with the city, construction of the “transitional casino” would begin in late February 2025 and be complete by mid-October 2025, with an opening date targeted for Nov. 5, 2025. The permanent casino’s construction would start in mid-January 2025 and be complete in August 2027, with its opening taking place the following month.
The budgets for both the temporary and permanent casinos are “still under review,” Boyd Gaming’s general counsel and corporate secretary, Uri Clinton, said in an interview Tuesday before the vote. However, he noted that the focus is on building the permanent casino, as opposed to the construction of the temporary space. “Just to be very direct, the transitional casino is not a big item relative to the overall project,” Clinton said. “So right now, we’re still going through that, but it is very specific to its purpose [of meeting state lottery requirements]. It’s transitional by nature.”
According to a pitchbook provided to Virginia Business by the company, the permanent casino resort will include a 200-room hotel, 13,000 square feet of meeting space, a casino with 1,500 slot machines and 50 table games, eight restaurants and bars, and 4,000 square feet of spa and gym space. The HeadWaters Resort & Casino name is no longer in effect, and Boyd is working now on a new name and brand for the casino.
Under the agreement, Boyd Gaming is now majority owner of Golden Eagle Consulting II, a limited liability company formed by the Pamunkey Indian Tribal Gaming Authority and Yarbrough, which won the city’s approval as operator of the Norfolk casino in 2020. The resort was approved by voters via referendum in November 2020, the first year commercial casinos were allowed to be brought to referendums in Virginia. Originally, the tribe partnered with Yarbrough, a billionaire who founded casino game producer Video Gaming Technologies, which he sold for $1.28 billion in 2014.
Pamunkey Indian Tribe Chief Robert Gray said Tuesday that the end of the tribe’s partnership with Yarbrough was “very amicable. We’re moving in this direction. It’s just a fantastic opportunity.”
The tribe and Yarbrough promised to build the $500 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino on the Elizabeth River, but disputes between the city and the developers over design and proposed two-phase construction delayed the project multiple times — and now developers face a November 2025 state deadline, during which at least a temporary casino must be built and licensed by the Virginia State Lottery for the developers to retain the right to build a casino under the 2020 referendum vote.
Three other casinos approved by voters in Danville, Bristol and Portsmouth in 2020 have already opened, and in November, Petersburg voters will weigh in on their own casino referendum. Richmond voters twice rejected casino referendums, and the state legislature voted to provide Petersburg the opportunity earlier this year.
Clinton said his company has finished other casinos quickly, including a $500 million Sacramento, California, resort completed ahead of schedule and under budget, and an extension of a Louisiana casino that was “a ground-up construction.”
Gray began working toward building a casino in Norfolk even before the state allowed commercial casinos to be built; in 2019, the city approved a land deal that allowed the casino to be built on the waterfront. On Tuesday, he said the tribe spoke with several casino developers earlier in the year before landing on Boyd Gaming, a publicly traded, 49-year-old company that still has Boyd family members in some leadership roles. The tribe and the company began working together about six months ago, Gray said.
“[We’re] very excited, because I believe Boyd is the group that can bring us across the finish line in time and build and create a great opportunity here in the region,” he said. As for the tribe’s members, “they say it’s beneficial to tribal citizens in the way of education, health care, housing and various other needs.”
He said that the tribe decided to partner with Boyd over other companies because they “shared our commitment to the community, shared values, family values, commitment to even the workers,” including hiring local veterans, who are in ample supply in Hampton Roads.
Rendering of Norfolk casino
Based in Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming operates 28 casinos in 10 states, including some with tribal partners, but this is its first venture in Virginia. The company reported $3.75 billion in revenue in 2023.
Boyd estimates that the permanent casino’s construction phase will produce $510 million in local economic impact, as well as 2,850 temporary construction jobs and $173 million in salaries and wages. In the operating phase, the company predicts $2.9 billion in economic impact, $583 million in salaries and wages, and 850 permanent jobs. Under the partnership, the tribe retains no less than 20% equity in the casino project, the same as it did in the partnership with Yarbrough.
The permanent project must cost at least $300 million, a requirement under state law.
Tuesday’s City Council vote gives Golden Eagle Consulting — now including Boyd Gaming — an amended and restated option to purchase an additional acre, in addition to 8.35 acres already planned for the casino and parking facilities, and authorizing the city manager to execute the development agreement and enter into site plan agreements and easements.
“I am excited to recognize this significant milestone in our journey to bring a world-class casino and hotel resort to the Harbor Park Entertainment District,” Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander said in a statement. “Boyd Gaming Corp., in partnership with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, is set to deliver a premier destination that will generate millions of dollars in tax revenues, create numerous jobs and revitalize our waterfront. This project will not only enhance our tourism efforts but also enable us to invest in key priorities that will benefit our community for years to come.”
Keith Smith, Boyd Gaming’s CEO and president, added, “We are pleased to take this important step forward in helping the Pamunkey Indian Tribe realize its vision of a best-in-class gaming resort. The greater Norfolk area is one of the largest underserved gaming markets in the mid-Atlantic region, and represents a compelling opportunity to further expand and diversify our company’s nationwide presence. We appreciate the Norfolk City Council’s support and confidence in our development plans, and we look forward to partnering with the city and the tribe as we continue the process of developing a transformational gaming entertainment experience on the Norfolk waterfront.”
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected since publication.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ruth Porat, Google and Alphabet’s president, chief investment officer and chief financial officer, announced the tech company’s investment to grow its Virginia data center campuses. News conference photo courtesy Google
Google is expanding its Virginia data center campuses this year and is launching a $75 million Google.org AI opportunity fund. (April 26)
After nine years and through three U.S. presidents, attorneys David DePippo and Tim McHugh and their client, a Richmond FBI agent, won a case focused on GI Bill education funding. (April 16)
Five Petersburg casino contenders shared their plans, but the city later picked a partnership between The Cordish Cos. and former NFL star athlete Bruce Smith
to move forward. (April 15)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced three new hires in his administration. (See related interview with new Virginia Lottery Executive Director Khalid Jones, Page 46.) (April 12)
Virginians wagered $635.59 million on sports in March, 24.2% more than March 2023, according to Virginia Lottery data released Wednesday.
March’s handle was a 16.6% increase from the $545 million Virginians bet in February. Virginia bettors won almost $588 million in March and approximately $495 million in February.
“Virginia bettors came back full throttle after a two-month slump,” Steve Bittenbender, an analyst with sports betting vendor BetVirginia.com, said in a statement. “State coffers benefitted from both college and professional basketball wagers.”
Approximately $629.66 million of March’s gross sports gaming revenues came from mobile operators, while the remaining roughly $5.9 million came from casino retail activity. Virginia currently has three casinos: the temporary Bristol Casino: The Future Home of Hard Rock, the permanent Rivers Casino Portsmouth and the temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville. In March, Virginia’s casinos reported about $65.08 million in gaming revenues, according to the Virginia Lottery.
Licensed operators included in March’s reporting were:
Betfair Interactive US (FanDuel) in partnership with the Washington Commanders
Virginia places a 15% tax on sports betting activity based on each permit holder’s adjusted gross revenue (total wagers minus total winnings and other authorized deductions). With 13 operators reporting net positive AGR for March, state taxes for the month totaled $6.25 million. Of that, 97.5% — about $6.09 million — will be deposited in the state’s general fund. The remaining $156,277 will go to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund, which the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services administers.
“Despite this not being a successful year for Virginia-based hoops, the state netted $6.2 million in tax revenue in March, proving local bettors enjoy engaging in events such as March Madness even without a hometown team to support,” Bittenbender said.
Going forward, the usual spring and summer slump in sports betting might not materialize because of the Paris Olympics, according to Bittenbender.
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The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
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