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Tag: Rivers Casino

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.

Va. casinos report $57.3M in Feb. revenue

Gaming revenues from Virginia’s three casinos totaled $57.3 million in February, according to Virginia Lottery data released Friday.

The Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock temporary facility opened July 2022, making it Virginia’s first casino. The Virginia Lottery Board approved HR Bristol’s casino license in April 2022. Last month, the Bristol casino generated about $11.67 million from its 911 slots and about $1.67 million from its 29 table games, for a total of about $13.3 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings).

Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened in January 2023, becoming Virginia’s first permanent casino. The lottery board had previously approved its license in November 2022. In February, the Portsmouth casino reported about $25 million in AGR, of which about $18.2 million came from its 1,468 slots and the remaining roughly $7 million from its 81 table games.

The temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville opened in May 2023, after receiving its casino license in April 2023. In January, Caesars Virginia held a topping-off ceremony for the 12-story hotel that will be part of the permanent resort casino slated to open late this year. The casino reported about $13.98 million from its 808 slots and $4.75 million from its 33 table games, totaling about $18.7 million.

February’s casino gaming revenues were an almost 8.5% increase from the $52.86 million reported in January.

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of February, taxes from casino AGRs totaled $10.32 million.

The host cities of Portsmouth and Danville received 6% of their respective casinos’ AGRs: about $1.5 million and $1.12 million, respectively. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — about $800,800 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, which was almost $82,570 last month. The Family and Children’s Trust Fund, which funds local family violence prevention and treatment programs, receives 0.2% of the monthly total, about $20,640 in February.

One other casino is currently underway in Virginia: the $500 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino in Norfolk. The developers — a partnership between the King William-based Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarbrough — submitted new plans to the city, aiming to start continuous, rather than phased, construction in spring 2024.

The Norfolk Architectural Review Board is the first body to review plans in the approval process, which ends with the Norfolk City Council. The board was set to review the new plans in January, but the developers have continued the review indefinitely.

“The Pamunkey Tribe has continued to work diligently with its architecture and engineering teams to produce the additional design work necessary to address the direction provided by [Norfolk] City Council. Until that work is completed, we have asked for a continuance before the ARB,” Jay Smith, spokesperson for HeadWaters Resort & Casino, said in a statement after the Architectural Review Board’s Jan. 22 meeting.

“As soon as we are confident that the plans meet the needs of the city and Tribe, we will ask to be put on the ARB agenda,” Smith said in the statement. “We know so many residents of Norfolk share our eagerness to open HeadWaters Resort & Casino, and once design is completed, we will employ an aggressive construction schedule to bring this project to life.” The casino must obtain its license from the lottery board by November 2025, or the 2020 referendum becomes null and void under state law.

Following Richmond voters’ rejection of a proposed $562 million casino for the second time, Petersburg lawmakers sought to hold a referendum in their city. A bill that would replace Richmond with Petersburg on the list of cities eligible to host a casino in Virginia has passed the Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates, but the House added an amendment that requires a second vote on the bill during a “subsequent regular or special session,” so the bill is stalled for now. A second bill that would have given Fairfax County a casino referendum has also been tabled until 2025’s session.

Virginians bet nearly $426M on sports in April

Virginians wagered $425.98 million in April, up 6.6% from the year prior, according to data released June 1 by the Virginia Lottery.

About $422 million in sports betting revenue came from mobile operators, and the remaining $3.5 million came from casino retail activity out of the temporary Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol and the state’s first permanent casino, Rivers Casino Portsmouth. Virginia casino total gaming revenues totaled $35.4 million in April, according to the Virginia Lottery. Virginia’s third casino, the temporary Caesars Virginia resort in Danville, opened May 15.

April’s sports betting revenues decreased almost 16.7% from the $511.6 million reported in March. Virginia sports bettors won $380.86 million in April, down from $456 million in March.

A summer slump in sports betting is normal, according to Dru James, an analyst with Virginia Lottery-approved sports betting vendor BetVirginia.com.

“The industry-dreaded summer of discontent will likely contain persistent short-term drops through the summer and into September, where they should pick back up as professional sports return to the calendar,” James said in a statement. “In the meantime, year-over-year figures will be a much stronger indicator of market health in the state of Virginia and beyond.”

The 16 licensed operators included in April’s reporting were:

  • Betfair Interactive US LLC (FanDuel) in partnership with the Washington Commanders,
  • Crown Virginia Gaming LLC (Draft Kings),
  • BetMGM LLC,
  • Rivers Portsmouth Gaming LLC (Rivers Casino Portsmouth),
  • Caesars Virginia LLC,
  • WSI US LLC,
  • Twin River Management Group LLC,
  • Penn Sports Interactive LLC,
  • Unibet Interactive Inc.,
  • Colonial Downs Group LLC,
  • Digital Gaming Corporation VA LLC,
  • VHL VA LLC,
  • HR Bristol LLC,
  • Hillside (Virginia) LLC,
  • DC Sports Facilities Entertainment LLC,
  • and Betr VA LLC.

Virginia places a 15% tax on sports betting activity based on each permit holder’s adjusted gross revenue. With 10 operators reporting net positive adjusted gross revenue for April, the monthly taxes totaled $5.8 million, 97.5% of which will be deposited in the state’s general fund. The remainder, nearly $145,000, will go to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund, which the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services administers.

Va. casinos report $35.4M in April revenue

Gaming revenues from Virginia’s two casinos open in April totaled $35.4 million last month, according to data released Monday from the Virginia Lottery.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth, which received its casino license in November 2022 and opened Jan. 23, reported $21.3 million in adjusted gross revenue (wagers minus winnings) in April. Of that, $13.8 million came from its 1,420 slots, and the remaining $7.5 million came from its 81 table games.

The Virginia Lottery Board approved the casino license for the HR Bristol operator in April 2022, and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol’s temporary facility opened on July 8, 2022. Its permanent facility is expected to open in July 2024. HR Bristol reaped $14 million in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) in April. The casino reported $11 million in AGR from its 888 slots and $2.7 million from its 29 table games.

Last month, Virginia took in almost $6.37 million in tax revenue from casino gaming activity — $3.8 million from the Portsmouth casino and $2.5 million from the Bristol casino. For Rivers Casino Portsmouth, 6% of its AGR (about $1.28 million) will go to Portsmouth, while 6% of the Hard Rock Bristol’s AGR (about $842,000) will go 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 will receive $30.7 million from Rivers Casino Portsmouth’s taxes and $20.2 million from Bristol casino taxes for a total of $50.9 million. The Family and Children’s Trust Fund will receive about $12,700 from April taxes, of which about $7,700 comes from the Portsmouth casino. The remaining $4.18 million in taxes will stay in the Gaming Proceeds Fund.

Virginia’s third casino, Caesars Virginia’s temporary casino, opened Monday in Danville. The temporary facility has 740 slot machines, 25 live table games and 28 electronic table games.

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. 

February 2023 Top Five

The top five most-read daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from Dec. 15, 2022, to Jan. 13 included an update on the planned merger of Eastern Virginia Medical School into Old Dominion University.

1  |  Youngkin budget outlines EVMS/ODU merger by 2024

EVMS would merge with ODU by July 2024, according to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s
proposed budget amendments. (Dec. 15)

2  |  Rivers Casino Portsmouth opening delayed

Virginia’s first permanent casino delayed its grand opening by eight days to Jan. 23
to allow extra time for testing and verifying gaming equipment. (Jan. 10)

3  |  Va. nursing homes, assisted living facilities struggle with staffing

A majority of facilities report widespread vacancies for certified nursing
assistants/direct caregivers, licensed practical nurses and registered
nurses. (Dec. 22)

4  |  Richmond receives 5 proposals for City Center project

Five development teams submitted proposals to redevelop the
newly rebranded City Center Innovation District, a 9.4-acre
downtown area including the closed Richmond Coliseum. (Dec. 21)

5  |  Fertility testing startup to establish $1.4M Albemarle HQ

PS-Fertility Inc. will commercialize a male fertility diagnostic
technology that was originally developed at the University
of Virginia, creating 31 jobs. (Jan. 11)