Caesars Virginia Casino Resort in Danville Pushes Back Opening to 2024

Time Stamp: May 4, 2022 10:57 AM

Caesars Virginia officials announced this week that the scheduled opening of the Danville casino resort will be pushed back from 2023 to sometime in 2024.

Caesars Virginia casino gambling Danville
Site prep, which includes demolishing old buildings, is underway at Caesars Virginia in Danville. The casino, however, is delaying its planned opening from 2023 to 2024 because of hindrances caused by COVID-19. (Image: Caesars Entertainment)

Danville is one of five cities in Virginia that qualified to consider a casino development under the state’s legalization of commercial gambling in 2020. Local voters approved a single casino project through a ballot referendum during the November election that year.

Caesars Entertainment was selected by city officials to develop and operate the resort. While the Las Vegas Strip casino bigwig initially said its Danville resort would open in the second or third quarter of next year, the company now says the property is looking at a 2024 commencement.

This project will open in 2024,” said Caesars spokesperson Robert Livingston. “No one is more motivated than Caesars to get this off the ground and begin generating revenue for the company and for the community.”

Livingston cited supply disruptions caused by the pandemic for the opening postponement.

“We have seen supply chain issues and other market forces that continue to wreak havoc,” Livingston added.

Largest Casino Investment

Four of the five qualifying casino cities under the 2020 Virginia gambling bill have passed local referendums authorizing a single gaming license in their towns. Only Richmond voters rejected the opportunity, though efforts in the capital are ongoing to hold a second vote on the matter.

Of the four casinos moving forward, Caesars Virginia comes with the largest investment. Caesars expects to spend $500 million constructing and opening the venue.

The resort is being built on the former grounds of the Dan River Mills textile site. The first step in the half of a billion-dollar project is readying the Schoolfield site for construction. Many of the former textile mill’s condemned buildings still stand.

The massive cleanup and site prep is also a bit more labor-intensive than expected.

“There’s a lot of concrete,” Livingston explained. The Caesars official said labor shortages are only further complicating the task. But he maintains that “none of this has altered [Caesars’] commitment to Danville.”

The Caesars Virginia casino plan includes 1,400 slot machines, 75 table games, 16-table WSOP Poker Room, and Caesars Sportsbook. The resort is to feature 500 guestrooms, a spa and pool complex, numerous restaurants and bars, a 2,500-seat concert venue, retail shopping, and 40,000 square feet of meeting space.

Portsmouth Hiring Events

Portsmouth is one of the four Virginia casino cities moving forward with a gambling destination. Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming is the Hampton Roads city’s development partner.

Rush is bringing its Rivers casino brand to Virginia with a $300 million resort in Portsmouth. Rivers Casino Portsmouth, as the project is known, announced today that it will hold five career fairs over the next five months to fulfill 1,300 permanent jobs at the forthcoming casino.

Rivers Portsmouth is slated to open early next year. Construction broke ground on the resort last November. The first hiring spree is scheduled for May 12 at the Tidewater Community College Portsmouth campus.

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