Virginia Casinos Just Miss on $60 Million of Revenue for Fourth Straight Month

Written By Phil West on July 17, 2024
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Virginia’s three casinos did not quite reach the $60 million threshold in June, but they came close to the dollar amount that has become the 2024 benchmark.

The opening of two new permanent Virginia casinos by year’s end could move that benchmark upward.

According to the Virginia Lottery, June gaming revenues totaled $59.5 million, and another $10.7 million in taxes were paid into the Gaming Proceeds Fund, bringing the year’s total tax revenue to about $64.3 million halfway through 2024.

Virginia casino revenue 2024
Revenue in millions

Rivers Casino Portsmouth still leads the way

Of the three casinos, the only permanent location, Rivers Casino Portsmouth, brought in close to $25.95 million for the month, with more than $17.9 million drawn from more than 1400 slot machines and nearly $8 million coming from 84 table games.

The temporary Caesars Danville generated over $19 million in gaming revenue, with 826 slot machines contributing $14 million and 36 table games adding another $5.2 million.

Hard Rock Bristol’s temporary casino brought in $14.35 million on the strength of 907 slot machines generating a little more than $12 million and 29 table games generating more than $2.3 million.

Of course, Danville and Bristol are both getting shiny new permanent hotel-casino complexes by the end of the year. In addition to the obvious appeal those new properties will have, the gaming capacity for both will expand.

Permanent Virginia casinos could increase revenue by $28 mil/month

The new Caesars Virginia, to open by year’s end after some deliberation, plans to go live with 1,300 slot machines, 85 live table games, 24 electronic table games, a WSOP poker room, and a Caesars Sportsbook. Judging from just the slot machines and table games alone, if you project revenues with the same value per gaming position based on June’s values, that represents an additional $8.05 million a month for slots and an extra $7 million from more than doubling the table games.

In Bristol, the Hard Rock also promises to open by year’s end, with 1,500 slot machines and 75 table games. Using the same math, slot machine revenue should expand by an additional $9.4 million. Table games, using the same metrics, would see about a $3.65 million increase in revenue there.

That means the $60 million monthly benchmark now could approach the $90 million mark. It’s also quite possible that Caesars would challenge Rivers as the best revenue-generating casino in the Commonwealth.

That’s not the only possible change on the horizon. Petersburg is set for a November referendum on creating a casino-hotel complex near the state’s capital. Should that happen, the developers of that proposal—a joint project between Bruce Smith Enterprises and the Cordish Companies—could seek to open a temporary casino while building a permanent venue.

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Phil West

Phil West is a longtime journalist based in Austin, Texas, whose bylines have appeared in The Daily Dot, Nautilus, Pro Soccer USA, Howler, Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Antonio Express-News, Austin American-Statesman, and Austin Chronicle. He has also written two books about soccer.

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