Summary:
- Danville earned almost $20 million in payments from the venue.
- Revenue is being used for school improvements, park updates, and economic development.
- The full-scale casino is expected to be even more successful.
When the temporary Caesars Danville casino opened in Virginia in May of last year, officials expected it to do well. It was believed that players would visit the casino regularly and build up substantial revenues for the city.
However, the temporary venue was not expected to blow projections out of the water. After a year in operation, the temporary casino brought in $222 million in revenues, providing $7 million more to the city of Danville. Close to $20 million was generated as part of the operations.
Helping the Local Community
The temporary facility has been extremely helpful in bringing new revenues to the city. Money generated from gaming will assist in improving local schools, updating neighborhood parks, and creating economic development opportunities.
Ken Larking, the City Manager of Danville, stated that the revenues were expected to surpass the estimates but not at the rate they did. The earnings are quite impressive, especially considering a full-scale casino with more gaming options is coming soon.
Larking pointed out that the city plans to use the casino funds to invest in growth. More businesses will mean more job opportunities, which will, in turn, create a better quality of life, better education, the development of the workforce, etc.
More to Come
The smaller casino brought in around 100,000 visitors each month, which is quite a large number considering its size. The number of visitors is expected to increase once the permanent venue is open for business.
The larger space will include a hotel, restaurants, meeting space, a pool, spa, and, of course, the casino. With overnight stays available, the casino can attract visitors from further away, which will help increase the overall total.
Staff at the casino will also increase once the full casino is open. Right now, there are only around 400 people employed at Caesars Danville. Soon, that number will increase to 1,200. The jobs are the number one way that the city will work to support local businesses, and hopefully, it will see even more new investment in the area.
The new gaming facility is progressing nicely in the construction phase, with the venue set to open by the end of 2024. Originally, the plan was to spend $400 million on the property, but now the capital investment has been increased to $750 million.
It will be interesting to see just how many people visit the Virginia casino in the future and if the investment is worth it. If revenues expand even further with the larger space, it will be an even bigger benefit to the local community.
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