Revenue increases 4% since April
Posted on June 17, 2024 by Katherine Schulte
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May gaming revenue for Virginia’s three casinos totaled $62.7 million, according to Virginia Lottery data released June 14.
Last month, pop-up casino Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock reported about $15.46 million in adjusted gaming revenue (bets minus winnings), of which about $12.4 million came from its 891 slot machines, and the remaining approximately $3 million came from its 29 tables. games. The temporary Bristol casino facility opened in July 2022, making it the first operating casino in Virginia. The Virginia Lottery Board approved HR Bristol’s casino license in April 2022. The opening of the permanent Hard Rock Bristol casino was delayed from July to late fall. The permanent casino resort is expected to feature a 303-room hotel, more than 1,500 slot machines, 75 table games, new dining venues and a 2,000-seat indoor entertainment venue.
After the lottery board approved its license in November 2022, Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023. In May, it generated nearly $18.6 million from its 1,411 slot machines and nearly $8.4 million from its 83 table games, for a total AGR of almost $27 million.
The temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, which received its casino license in April 2023 and opened in May 2023, reported about $14.7 million in AGR from its 824 slot machines and $5.57 million from its 36 table games , totaling about $20.28 million last month. Its permanent location, which will cost about $750 million, is scheduled to open later this year and will include a 320-room hotel and a roughly 90,000-square-foot casino.
Casino gaming revenue for May represented an increase of approximately 4% from the $60.1 million reported in April.
Virginia law imposes a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenues. For the month of May, casino AGR taxes amounted to $11.29 million.
The host cities of Portsmouth and Danville received 6% of their respective casinos’ AGR: about $1.6 million and $1.2 million, respectively. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue (about $927,700 last month) goes to the Regional Improvement Commission, which the General Assembly established to distribute tax funds from Bristol casinos throughout southwest Virginia.
The Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund receives 0.8% of total taxes, about $90,350 last month. The Family and Children Trust Fund, which funds family violence treatment and prevention programs, receives 0.2% of the monthly total, which was approximately $22,588 in May.
The other approved casino in Virginia, the $500 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino in Norfolk, remains in a holding pattern. 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 in reviewing their new plans by the board, while the development team makes design changes. requested by the city.
The casino must obtain its license from the lottery board by November 2025, or the referendum passed by Norfolk voters in 2020 will be null and void under state law.
In Central Virginia, Petersburg is expected to hold a casino referendum in November, asking voters to approve a proposal from The Cordish Cos. which the Petersburg City Council voted to endorse in April, canceling a competitive bidding process.
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