Developers break ground on $1.4B Petersburg casino

Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. and Virginia Beach developer Bruce Smith Enterprise broke ground Wednesday on the much-anticipated $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Resort in Petersburg.

The mixed-use development’s backers say it will create about 1,400 permanent jobs, increase tourism and generate billions in economic benefit for Virginia. In November 2024, more than 80% of Petersburg voters approved a local referendum greenlighting the casino, which is being built on an undeveloped, 100-acre site off Interstate 95 in Petersburg.

Smith and Cordish are partnering to develop the resort. On Wednesday, executives from both companies were joined by state and city officials to celebrate the groundbreaking.

“It has been a source of immense satisfaction and pride to partner in this incredible development,” said developer and NFL Pro Football Hall of Famer Smith. “For far too long, people have simply driven by the city of Petersburg, but today marks the beginning of a new era in which Petersburg will become a prime destination.”

Smith says the project will ignite tourism, create jobs and provide greater opportunity and upward mobility for local families. “As a champion of Petersburg and its residents, I am happily confident that this historic development will uplift, empower and enrich this community for years to come,” he said in a statement.

According to a news release, Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia is slated to open in 2027. The site will include more than 450,000 square feet of gaming, lodging and dining. It will also feature 75,000 square feet of meeting, convention and entertainment space, 1,600 slot machines, 65 live-action table games, high limit slot and table areas, and a 200-room hotel with 20 suites, a pool and fitness center.

A temporary gaming facility will open in Petersburg by the end of the year with 75,000 square feet of gaming space, 900 slots, 33 live-action table games, a bar and a quick-service restaurant.

According to a news release from Cordish, the resort is expected to generate $2.8 billion in economic stimulus to the region, $504 million in tax revenue, including $240 million to the City of Petersburg, as well as $802 million in economic benefits during construction, $201 million in annual economic benefits each year after opening and more than 7,500 jobs, including 6,100 construction jobs and 1,400  permanent jobs.

“Live! Casino & Hotel will be a transformative development that will bring a world-class gaming and entertainment experience to millions of visitors, create significant new jobs and generate millions of dollars in economic benefits for the community that will provide a beneficial impact for generations,” Smith said. “We look forward to making an immediate impact on the region with the construction of a temporary gaming facility that will be operational before the end of 2025, so that we can begin creating jobs, vendor opportunities and economic benefits for the city.”

So far, Virginia has three operating casinos: Rivers Casino Portsmouth, the state’s first permanent casino; the Hard Rock Bristol Casino, which opened in November; and the Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, which opened in December.

Meanwhile, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Boyd Gaming started construction on the long-delayed Norfolk casino in February.

All four of those casino projects were passed via local referendum in 2020, but Richmond voters rejected an Urban One casino project in 2021 and 2023 votes. Last year, Virginia General Assembly lawmakers passed legislation that gave Petersburg a chance to host a casino, pending voters’ approval of a referendum on the November ballot, and barred Richmond from a third try. The state’s casino laws cap the number of casinos to one per city in five designated cities: Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and now Petersburg, which replaced Richmond.