Virginia casino gaming revenues total $59.3M in July

Also, the $500 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino in Norfolk, which has been in a holding pattern for the past several months, could be moving forward. The Norfolk Architectural Review Board will discuss new renderings for the casino and resort at its Aug. 19 meeting.

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 made design changes requested by the city. The casino operators must receive the City Council’s OK before proceeding with construction, following the architecture review board’s recommendation.

Approved by voters in November 2020, the Norfolk casino also must obtain its license from the lottery board by November 2025, or the referendum becomes null and void under state law. City officials have indicated earlier this year they could move forward on a casino project with different developers if the 2025 deadline is not met.

Meanwhile, the state’s three active casinos reported steady revenue in July. The month’s casino gaming revenues were a less than 3% decline from the $59.5 million reported for June. Earlier this month, Virginia Lottery reported a record $5.5 billion in sales for fiscal 2024 and record profit of $934 million.

Last month, the Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock temporary casino reported about $14.84 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings), of which about $11.69 million came from its 915 slots and the remaining roughly $3.15 million came 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 Hard Rock Bristol casino’s opening was pushed back from July to sometime in late fall.

After the lottery board approved its license in November 2022, Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023. In July, the Portsmouth casino generated about $18.26 million from its 1,389 slots and about $7.43 million from its 85 table games, for a total AGR of $25.69 million.

The temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, which received its casino license in April 2023 and opened in May 2023, generated about $18.8 million in revenue last month. Almost $14.39 million of that came from its 826 slots, and about $4.4 million from its 36 table games.

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of July, taxes from casino AGRs totaled about $10.68 million.

The host cities of Portsmouth and Danville received 6% of their respective casinos’ AGRs: about $1.5 million and $1.1 million, respectively. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — about $890,500 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 $85,450 for July. 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 $21,360 in July.

In Central Virginia, Petersburg has received approval for its casino referendum to appear on this fall’s ballots, asking voters to approve a proposal from The Cordish Cos. that Petersburg City Council endorsed in April, canceling a competitive bidding process. On Thursday, Bruce Smith Enterprise and Cordish announced the opening of their campaign office in Petersburg, as they prepare to get out the vote for the project.