Petersburg casino announces opening date for temporary facility

The temporary Live! Casino Virginia in Petersburg will open Jan. 22, 2026, pending regulatory approval.

The developers of the permanent $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia mixed-use development — Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. and Virginia Beach’s Bruce Smith Enterprise — on Monday announced the temporary facility’s opening date.

“After years of planning, we’re thrilled to see this vision become reality,” Cordish Gaming Group President Rob Norton said in a statement. “When Live! Casino Virginia opens its doors, Central Virginia will experience something truly exceptional — the region’s first full-scale casino featuring the electrifying energy of Vegas-style slots, live-action table games and the signature excitement only Live! can deliver.”

The temporary casino will be on the 100-acre site of the future Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia. Construction for the permanent casino at the site off I-95 at Exit 48B began in March, and its expected opening is 2027.

The project leads expect the temporary facility to create 500 jobs, including about 100 table game dealer positions, while they anticipate the full casino resort will create 1,400 jobs.

The Live! Casino Virginia will have 75,000 square feet of gaming space with more than 900 slot machines and more than 30 table games. It will also have a bar and quick-service restaurant, as well as more than 1,000 parking spaces.

“In the past, travelers have simply driven past this area for other points of interest. From Jan. 22 onwards, visitors will make the choice to come here as a prime destination,” Bruce Smith said in a statement.

The full 445,000-square-foot Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia is set to include 1,600 slot machines, more than 60 table games, more than 70,000 square feet of meeting, convention and entertainment space, a 200-room hotel with 25 suites, nearly 20 food and beverage options and a sportsbook.

More than 80% of Petersburg voters approved a local referendum greenlighting the casino in November 2024. Developers initially expected the temporary site to open by the end of 2025, but the opening was delayed because the casino wouldn’t have received regulatory approval in time.

The Petersburg casino is on track to be one of five casinos in Virginia.

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 2024; and the Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, which opened in December 2024.

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