Caesars Danville To Debut Temporary Virginia Casino on May 15

By Alec Cunningham | Jun 22, 2023, 11:43am

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The Virginia Lotteryapproved Caesars Virginia as the official casino for the city of Danville, officially making it the third casino operator in the state.

The temporary Danville casino is slated to open on Monday, May 15 at 10 a.m.

Caesars Virginia to open Danville casino May 15

Formed as a partnership between Caesars Entertainment and Danville Development, Caesars Virginia is now authorized to operate a casino in the city. Fortunately, this VA casino got a head start in the development process, allowing for the expedited launch of a Danville Casino temporary facility on May 15.

Danville’s new casino is expected to generate significant economic benefits for both the operator and the area as a whole. In all, the casino is expected to create roughly 1,300 jobs and generate millions in tax revenue for the city and state.

The permanent Caesars-Danville Development project features a $400 million casino build that will include a hotel, restaurants, and a variety of gaming options.

Caesars expects to open this permanent location by late 2024.

In collaboration w/ venture partners EBCI Holdings and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, & local minority investor, the Wright family, we are pleased to announce that Danville Casino, future home of @CaesarsVirginia, plans to open and take its first bet on May 15, 2023. pic.twitter.com/vSyFI4GdBN

— Caesars Entertainment (@CaesarsEnt) April 26, 2023

Three operators submitted detailed casino plans

Caesars beat out two other operators to become Virginia’s official Danville casino. Hard Rock International was the first to receive initial approval earlier this year, followed by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Only one brand ultimately received the sole casino license, though.

The Virginia Lottery subjected the three operators to detailed plan submissions and background checks before selecting Caesars as the chosen operator.

Caesars Danville will join Virginia’s two other live casinos, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol and Rivers Casino Portsmouth, becoming the state’s third legal location for casino gambling.

Five casinos planned for Virginia

Rivers Casino Portsmouth was the first to debut its temporary location after a 2020 bill paved the way for the approval of casinos in five Virginia cities. Meanwhile, Hard Rock Bristol plans to transition into its permanent casino location by 2024.

Casinos in Norfolk and Richmond will be the next to debut. Headwaters Resort & Casino Norfolk plans to first open a temporary location, followed by a grand opening sometime in 2024 or 2025.

And since Virginia sports betting is also legal, these casino locations will all offer retail sportsbooks. Given the state’s disposition for retail gambling, however, Virginia online casinos likely won’t become legal anytime soon.

In the short term, Virginia gamblers can look forward to a new Danville casino where they can find all their favorite slots, table games, poker tables, and a Caesars Sportsbook.

Alec Cunningham

Alec Cunningham is a lead writer and analyst for Lineups.com. She has covered countless online sports betting and casino legislation topics and now specializes in responsible gambling and gambling addiction recovery. In 2022, she served as a panelist at the All-American Sports Betting Summit, discussing the ever-evolving role of women in the gambling industry. As a college athlete, Alec Cunningham played Division II golf at Tusculum University. She graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Professional Writing. After working in the music industry as a concert promoter, tour manager and artist developer, she returned to her love of written word in 2020. Since then, Cunningham's love of sports has led her to become a responsible gambling advocate.