Rivers Casino Portsmouth reached a milestone on June 30. It welcomed its millionth customer to the casino around 3:30 p.m.
Terri Powell of Norfolk walked into the casino and was greeted with cheers and confetti. Little did Powell know that she was the lucky guest to push Rivers Casino Portsmouth past its goal.
She received $1,000 in free slot play, a dinner for four at the award-winning Admiral’s Steak and Seafood, and four tickets to see a show at Rivers Portsmouth called “The Experience.”
It took less than six months to reach the milestone
The $340 million Rivers Casino Portsmouth has been open just 158 days. It was the second Virginia casino to open its doors after Hard Rock Bristol back in July 2022.
Caesars Danville Virginia opened its temporary casino on May 15. The Virginia casino market now has three regulated establishments.
Rivers Casino General Manager Roy Corby recently spoke about the casino’s progress.
“Rivers Casino Portsmouth has been committed to providing a superior customer experience since Day 1, and hitting this milestone within just six months of opening signals great progress. Congratulations to our one-millionth customer, Terri, and thank you to the remaining 999,999 who have selected Rivers Casino as their entertainment destination of choice.”
Rivers Casino has accumulated just shy of $100 million of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) in 2023 thanks to its 1,416 slot machines, 81 table games and now over 1 million customers.
Virginia casinos are seeing strong results early on
Of the three casinos operating in Virginia, Rivers Casino has shown to be the most profitable, but it has new competition.
Rivers has led the state in AGR in each of the last four months. In May, it generated just over $20.5 million, which was a big step up from Hard Rock Bristol’s AGR of under $13 million. Its AGR in 2023 represents 55% of the state total and equates to a monthly average of nearly $20 million since opening its doors.
Rivers’ supremacy could come to a swift end with Caesars Virginia now open. In the two weeks since opening its doors in mid-May, Caesars Virginia accumulated just under $12 million in AGR. That puts it on pace to overtake Rivers if those numbers hold up.
Between the three regulated casinos in the Commonwealth, the state has racked up a total of almost $180 million in AGR in 2023.
Rivers Casino Portsmouth has contributed almost $18 million in taxes in 2023
In May, the state received nearly $8.2 million in taxes from the three active casinos in Virginia after the casinos reaped over $45 million in combined AGR.
The tax money will be go to four different funds. The first 6% goes to the host city. The next 0.8% goes to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund. Another 0.2% goes to the Family and Children’s Trust Fund. The final 93% is sent to the Gaming Proceeds Fund.
Virginia casinos have generated over $31 million in tax dollars in 2023. Of that total, nearly $18 million has been contributed by Rivers Casino Portsmouth.
