Posted on: October 30, 2024, 08:44h.
Last updated on: October 30, 2024, 08:44h.
Caesars Virginia in Danville will open its 90,000-square-foot casino floor with more than 1,300 slot machines, 85 live dealer table games, 24 electronic tables, a World Series of Poker Room, and a Caesars Sportsbook before 2024 closes.
Construction continues at Caesars Virginia in Danville in a photo dated Sept. 30, 2024. Caesars plans to open the casino portion of the resort in December. (Image: Caesars Entertainment)
Officials with Caesars and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), the co-developers and owners of the $750 million project, revealed this week that the casino will open sometime in December. An exact date is forthcoming.
The permanent casino will replace the gaming pavilion tent called the Danville Casino — Future Home of Caesars Virginia. The 24/7 temporary casino opened in mid-May 2023 and offers 800 slots and 33 tables.
Caesars Virginia occupies the former Dan River Inc.’s textile campus, which served as the economic engine of the city for over 100 years. The apparel and fabrics manufacturing company was bought out by an India-based conglomerate in 2006 and its operations were moved overseas.
Resort Opening Forthcoming
While Caesars Virginia will open its permanent casino space in December, company reps say the resort and hotel won’t be ready until the spring of 2025. The 320-room hotel is complemented by a full-service spa, resort pool, 2,500-seat live entertainment venue, and 50,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.
Caesars is also bringing a celebrity restaurateur to the Virginia-North Carolina border town with Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay’s Kitchen will plate up all of the restaurant’s most famous dishes, including the British chef’s signature beef wellington.
Caesars Virginia will include several other restaurants, plus several upscale lounges and bars.
The casino’s website says room reservations are available beginning April 1, 2025. They don’t come cheap, however, as rates start at $499. With a $35 per night resort fee and taxes, the total price for a one-night stay comes to $613.78. A room at the nearby Hampton Inn, inclusive of taxes and fees, is $225 with free breakfast.
Caesars Virginia is set to become the third permanent casino to open in Virginia following Rivers Casino Portsmouth in January 2023 and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol next month on Nov. 14.
Construction on a casino resort in Norfolk broke ground today. Voters in Petersburg will decide if they will become a fifth casino host next month during the 2024 election.
Regional Rebound
Caesars Virginia is Caesars Entertainment’s largest investment in the regional gaming space in years. The company’s $750 million bet on Danville comes with considerable risk after the company reported yesterday that its regional operations — defined as casinos outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic City — saw earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) tumble 13% in the third quarter to $498 million.
Caesars officials blamed tough year-over-year comparisons and “peak construction disruption” in New Orleans where the company invested $325 million to renovate, expand, and rebrand Harrah’s to Caesars.
Looking ahead, Caesars brass are optimistic about its regional segment, as Danville opens its permanent casino, and later, resort and hotel, and Caesars New Orleans becomes a construction-free destination.
As we look toward 2025, we will have tailwinds in New Orleans and Virginia that start to offset some of these competitive impacts in regional. So, we feel very good about the way ’25 looks versus the last two quarters in regional for us,” said Caesars CEO Tom Reeg.
During the company’s call on Tuesday, Reeg said the Danville casino pavilion tent slots are delivering the largest win per position per day “in our system.” But he says once the permanent casino opens, there will be almost double the number of gaming positions, which will create “significantly more expense.”
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