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, […]
Gambling on Hampton Roads
Roy Corby’s first job at a casino was as a dealer. Now, Corby is general manager of the $300 million Rivers Casino Portsmouth, which is on track to become the first Virginia casino to open in a permanent location. It plans to open in January 2023 at the intersection of Victory and Cavalier boulevards, off […]
HeadWaters temporary casino changes course in Norfolk
HeadWaters Resort & Casino, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s $500 million gaming project planned for Norfolk, announced Wednesday it is abandoning its temporary casino plans at Harbor Park, instead locating the facility on the same property as the permanent casino. “Issues were recently raised about the address of the proposed initial gaming facility,” the tribe said […]
First Va. casino opens in Bristol
Virginia’s first casino, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, held the grand opening for its temporary casino space Friday. “We are excited to open the temporary casino in Bristol,” Hard Rock International Inc. Chief Operating Officer Jon Lucas said in a statement. “Hard Rock’s rich and storied music legacy is a perfect fit for Bristol, […]
Training’s in the cards for Hard Rock Bristol
Mike Pauley started learning poker from his grandfather around age 8 and traveled around the nation playing competitively during his early 20s. When he learned that the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol was hiring casino dealers, he applied online. “I had thought about having a career somewhere, but I didn’t want to move away […]
Second Richmond casino referendum is off ballots
The Virginia General Assembly’s two-year budget, which was passed by both houses Thursday and sent to the governor, includes a provision that would delay a second casino vote in Richmond, where voters defeated a referendum last year. The language would not allow the referendum to appear on Richmond’s ballots until November 2023 — leaving the […]
Va. Lottery Board awards first casino license
The Virginia Lottery Board has issued its first license for a casino in Virginia to Hard Rock Bristol, the board announced Wednesday. With its permanent casino still on track to open at the former Bristol Mall in July 2024, Hard Rock International Inc. is preparing to open a 30,000-square-foot temporary casino with 870 gaming slots […]
Caesars Virginia names Danville casino contractor
Caesars Virginia has named Baltimore-based Whiting-Turner as the general contractor to build its $500 million resort and casino in Danville, Caesars Entertainment announced Monday. The resort will have a 500-guestroom hotel, a casino with more than 1,400 slot machines and table games, a Caesars sportsbook and a World Series of Poker-branded poker room. It will […]
Bristol temporary casino to open July 8
Hard Rock International Inc. will open its temporary casino in Bristol July 8, the company announced Thursday. The 30,000-square-foot temporary full-service casino featuring 900 gaming slots and 20 tables for gaming operations will open at 500 Gate City Highway, the former Bristol Mall. It is expected to generate 600 jobs. In February, the casino named […]
Richmond casino sites are up for grabs
With a future casino at least temporarily off the table in Richmond, two of the three land parcels that hopeful developers had been eyeing as future casino sites are back on the market, while the third will remain a movie theater. In spring 2021, city officials selected Urban One Inc.’s proposal to build a $565 […]
Finding new solutions
Movers and shakers in Southwest Virginia wanted to try a new approach to economic development. The stakes were (and are) high. Naturally, the decline of the coal industry had a devastating impact on Virginia’s coalfields. The Appalachian Regional Commission classifies four counties in Southwest Virginia — Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee and Wise — as economically distressed. […]
Making headway
Corporate investments are on the upswing in Southern Virginia, along with a desire to increase production, says Linda Green, executive director of the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance. “People have a lot of pent-up demand, and companies are responding to that,” she says. “We have lots of interest and activity.” Companies are choosing Southern Virginia for […]