DANVILLE CASINO GENERATES $21.08 MILLION IN MARCH

The Virginia Lottery reported earlier this week that gaming revenue totaled $21.08 million for Danville Casino in March. The total was the second-highest monthly total since the temporary casino opened on May 15.

Gaming tax revenue for the City of Danville in March amounted to $1.26 million. The City of Danville also receives direct payments as part of an agreement with Caesars Virginia. The direct payment for March will be $527,090, bringing the month’s total revenue to nearly $1.79 million.

Since the casino opened May 15, it has generated $202.2 million in gaming revenue and nearly $17.2 million in tax revenue for the city. Direct payments total about $5 million since the casino opened.

The Virginia Lottery also released March figures for the state’s other two casinos in operation. HR Bristol casino generated $16.27 million in gaming revenue, with Rivers Casino Portsmouth bringing in $27.7 million.

During March, gaming revenues from Virginia casinos totaled $65.08 million. Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s AGR, or wagers minus winnings, and $11.7 million in taxes were paid. Of that total, $3.9 million goes to Danville, Bristol, and Portsmouth as host cities, with the remainder going into the state’s gaming proceeds fund, a problem gambling treatment and support fund, and a family and children’s trust fund.

The numbers were issued on Monday by the Virginia Lottery.

Danville’s voters approved a Caesars Virginia casino in Danville by a wide margin in November 2020. The Virginia Lottery Board approved the casino license for Caesars Virginia in April of this year. The permanent Caesars Virginia casino resort project in Schoolfield is expected to be complete in late 2024. 

The Virginia Lottery Board approved the casino license for HR Bristol in April 2022, and the temporary facility on the site of the former Bristol Mall opened to the public on July 8, 2022. The Virginia Lottery Board approved the casino license for Rivers Casino Portsmouth in November 2022 and the casino opened to the public on Jan. 23, 2023.