Caesars Virginia celebrated the grand opening of its full casino hotel resort Tuesday on the spot where the former Dan River Inc. textile mill operated for more than a century.
Place your bets.
“This incredible resort has something for everyone, world-class gaming operations, amazing restaurants,” Caesars Entertainment President and Chief Operating Officer Anthony Carano told attendees at start of the grand opening.
The company welcomed thousands of customers to its newly opened resort during festivities that included a small parade of racecars, one of which carried former basketball player Dennis Rodman, who placed the ceremonial first bet at Caesars Sportsbook.
“Are you proud of what you see here today, Danville?” Caesars Virginia General Manager Chris Albrecht said to an eager crowd gathered beneath the facility’s covered main entrance.
Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd following Albrecht’s question.
The long-anticipated opening of the casino transforms Schoolfield, the area along West Main Street that once was a company community for the thousands of employees at Dan River Inc. The plant operated from 1882 until its closure in 2006.
“I hope you’re proud of what we’ve delivered here,” Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg told the crowd.
Reeg pointed to Danville’s choice of Caesars as its gaming provider, saying that “you as Danville and as a commonwealth had choices among many strong operators.”
Before the ceremony began, however, a small parade of vehicles streamed into the area beside the covered entrance, where Rodman emerged from a yellow car. Performers dressed as Caesar and Cleopatra were also part of the procession.
Danville voters overwhelmingly approved a Caesars Virginia casino in the city during a referendum in November 2020.
It was about six years ago in late 2018 when Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville, approached city officials about whether Danville would be willing to be a host city for a casino.
Not long after that, the City Council passed a resolution supporting the idea of Danville being one of five cities in the state that would be eligible for development of a casino.
In April 2020, the Virginia General Assembly approved a bill to allow casino gaming and sports betting in five eligible cities, contingent upon a referendum in each locality, including Danville. The other cities were Bristol, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond.
Danville leaders selected Caesars Entertainment as the River City’s gaming provider in May 2020.
In May 2022, officials announced the project — originally expected to be finished by the second or third quarter of 2023 — would be pushed back to 2024, blaming supply chain issues and labor shortages following the pandemic.
Ground was broken on the Caesars Virginia project in August 2022.
A temporary gaming facility, Danville Casino, opened in May 2023 to provide an option for patrons until the opening of the full resort.
“What an incredible day for the city of Danville,” said Barron Fuller, regional president, east, for Caesars Entertainment. “What an incredible day for the 130,000 unique customers that we’ve already put through our temporary facility and for those customers that will be first-time visitors to this permanent facility today.”
The opening came after it was delayed for five days so Caesars Virginia could have more time to prepare for the big day. It was originally scheduled for Dec. 12.
Albrecht, during an interview before the ceremony, told the Register & Bee that about 2.5 million visits to the casino are expected per year, or about 200,000 per month.
City officials expect about $35 million to $40 million in gaming tax revenue from the resort annually, Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones said during his remarks at the ceremony.
He also tossed in a joke letting Rodman know he was welcome to come out of the resort and receive a Danville welcome.
“Many people came here to see Dennis Rodman,” Jones said. “Is Dennis still available? If he could come out while I’m talking … I’m trying to welcome Dennis out here.”
Since the opening of Danville Casino in May 2023, the city has received more than $20 million in gaming tax revenue and more than $9 million in supplemental payments from Caesars Virginia, Jones said.
“We stand at a crossroads of history and progress,” Jones told the crowd. “Let us continue to build on this momentum ensuring that the growth sparked by Caesars Virginia uplifts every corner of our city, every resident of our community.”
Referring to the expected tax revenues, Albrecht told the Register & Bee, “We’re looking forward to being able to contribute to the community.”
In addition to the direct impact through gaming tax revenues, Caesars will generate an indirect benefit for Danville from casino visitors spending money at other businesses in the city, he said.
During Jones’ remarks, the mayor presented Albrecht a city of Danville pin.
“We don’t expect you to be going anywhere anytime soon,” Jones told Albrecht.
Jones also reflected on the lengthy path that led to Tuesday’s occasion.
“When this Council first envisioned the impact of Caesars Virginia, we saw more than a casino,” he said, calling the project “a catalyst for change.”
Caesars Virginia is owned by Caesars Entertainment and venture partners EBCI Holdings and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
The $750 million project includes a 587,000-square-foot casino resort with more than 90,000 square feet of gaming space, including nearly 1,500 slots, 79 table games, a WSOP poker room and Caesars Sportsbook.
“This represents our commitment to the future of this region,” Michell Hicks, chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, said during his remarks.
He added that the tribe has been partners with Caesars for 27 years.
“We are committed to the success of this project,” Hicks added. “We’re not going into any investment without knowing that it’s going to be our best foot that we put forward.”
The resort is also home to a 320-room hotel tower, 50,000 square feet of meeting and convention space that also serves as a 2,500-seat live entertainment venue, full-service spa, pool and a wide variety of dining, including Ramsay’s Kitchen by multi-Michelin-starred chef and television personality Gordon Ramsay and the 500 Block Food Hall by local developer Rick Barker and local restaurateur Steve Parry.
The 500 Block Food Hall features Southern Slices — a pizza eatery, Mill Burger and The Garage, serving barbecue. That section is designed with nods to the 500 block of Craghead Street, which Barker has been redeveloping over the last several years.
Other establishments in the resort include Threads — a bar offering cocktails, light bites and live entertainment — Starbucks, Dan Dan Noodle Bar and Three Stacks.
Just before the facility’s opening, hundreds of eager customers lined up in front of the door waiting to place their first bets inside the new full casino.
Floyd Scearce, a Danville native who lives in South Boston, said he came to the grand opening so he could play his favorite game, Super Buffalo.
The city “took a hard hit” when the mill closed, Scearce said.
“I’m hoping Caesars [Virginia] will bring Danville back better than what it used to be,” he said.
Danville resident Mark Durrette likes to play Wheel of Fortune, something “fast and easy,” he said. He believes the casino resort will provide a boost for local businesses.
“I think it’s good for the economy and for small businesses,” Durrette said.
He has been gambling at the temporary casino at least twice a week since it opened. Durrette plans to go to the full resort even more frequently now that it’s operating.
“Probably three or four times a week,” he said. “I’m gambling responsibly.”
As for Rodman, he placed the ceremonial first bet at Caesars Sportsbook at around noon, just after the grand opening and the first patrons were allowed into the resort.
He placed a parlay for every team he’s ever played for. A parlay is a type of wager in which multiple bets are connected together to make one bet for a larger payout.
A crowd of reporters and others gathered around the area where Rodman placed his bet applauded while he posed for pictures after his parlay.
During his final remarks before the opening Caesars Virginia’s doors, Albrecht referred to someone who said they couldn’t believe such a facility was “standing here in Danville.”
“Hopefully, you will, over time, feel that this is part of Danville, that we’re transforming the look and expectations of what Danville can provide when it comes to tourism,” he said. “In this market, we are bringing hundreds of thousands of people in that temporary tent. We’re going to kill it when we move into this facility. We’re going to kill it here.”
Read the original article here (John Crane, Register & Bee)