Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Hard Rock Unveils Casino In Virginia


Gamblers in southwest Virginia now have a new gambling option after the opening of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol last week. The city is located on the border with Tennessee and has potential to attract a significant number of visitors from that state as well.

Hard Rock executives, state and local officials, community members, and business and civic leaders were all part of the grand opening. The 620,000-square-foot resort features 1,500 slot machines, 50 table games, a sportsbook, more than 300 hotel rooms, restaurants, a 2,000-plus seat entertainment venue, with a poker room still to come.

“This is such a monumental moment for the Bristol community and Hard Rock,” Hard Rock International COO Jon Lucas said. “Hard Rock’s music heritage is a natural fit for Bristol, the ‘Birthplace of Country Music.’ We look forward to serving Bristol and the surrounding region with world-class gaming, dining and entertainment offerings.”

Adding To The Hard Rock Portfolio

In Bristol, a poker room is not yet open at the new casino, but a cardroom is in the works. Plans call for a poker room to open in the first quarter of 2025. That bucks a trend that has seen some recent poker room closures over the last few years, including the Sahara in Las Vegas which became the latest to shut down.

Hard Rock, which is owned by the Seminole tribe of Florida, operated a temporary casino in Bristol from July 2022 through early November. That venue attracted more than 3 million guests and produced over $68 million in tax revenue for the state. The project created almost 1,000 construction jobs and is expected to create over 1,400 full-time and part-time jobs.

The Virginia general assembly approved a plan in 2019 permitting casinos in five economically challenged cities. In addition to Bristol, the state now has a casino in Portsmouth with another set to open in Danville in December. Voters in Petersburg also recently approved bringing a casino to that city.

Last year, Virginia collected $272 million in combined taxes from its three temporary and built-out casinos, a number that is expected to rise significantly as more properties are opened.

 

 

 





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