Va. casinos report $57M in October revenue

Last month, the temporary Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock reported about $13.41 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings), of which about $11.16 million came from its 898 slots and about $2.26 million 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 casino resort opened Thursday.

After the lottery board approved its license in November 2022, Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023. In October, the casino generated more than $17.72 million from its 1,419 slots and over $7.70 million from its 85 table games, for a total AGR of $25.42 million.

The temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, which received its casino license in April 2023 and opened in May 2023, reported $18.21 million in AGR last month. Approximately $13.39 million of that came from its 826 slots, and more than $4.81 million came from its 36 table games. The $750 million permanent facility is set to open Dec. 12.

October’s casino gaming revenues were a $481,535 increase from the $56.56 million reported for September.

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of October, taxes from casino AGRs totaled about $11.54 million.

Under Virginia law, 6% of a casino operator’s AGR goes to its host locality until the operator passes $200 million in AGR for the year, at which point the host locality’s tax rate rises to 7%. If an operator passes $400 million in AGR in the calendar year, that rises to 8%.

For October, Portsmouth received 7% of the Rivers Casino Portsmouth’s AGR, getting more than $1.78 million. Danville received 6% of the Caesars Virginia casino’s adjusted gaming revenue, amounting to roughly $1.1 million. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — $804,831 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 $92,313 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 $23,078 in October.

The team behind the delayed Norfolk casino — which has had a change in ownership and in name — held a groundbreaking ceremony for the casino Oct. 30. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe remains a partner, but Boyd Gaming replaced Tennessee investor Jon Yarbrough. The entities have scrapped the name HeadWaters Resort & Casino and now refer to it as the Norfolk Casino Resort.

In November, more than 80% of Petersburg voters said yes to the city’s casino referendum.