The Danville City Council is set to vote on a required ordinance for Caesars Entertainment to do business, which would revise the city code and make casino gambling legal in the city ahead of the company’s first gaming property in Virginia. It would also allow the sale of beer and wine between midnight and 6 a.m. and Sunday by a licensed casino gaming establishment.
City Manager Ken Larking said this is a matter that has been on the city’s to-do list, and is mostly a housekeeping issue. “Gambling is not legal in the City of Danville, currently by city code, and if we’re going to have a casino that’s hoping to open in the next few months, then we need to get that corrected,” he said, as reported by WSET.
Larking also assured the matter is not a controversial one among city council members. “It’s obvious that they would need to do something on that,” he stated. “It would be quite detrimental to not, but I mean, all of the council members understand that this is an issue that needs to be taken care of.”
Ken Larking
The City Manager also added some context to the current casino situation, explaining Caesars is finishing up its temporary location on the same site as the permanent casino. He anticipated the opening to be by July, but he also noted it could happen earlier. The full resort is expected to bring in over $39 million in revenue to the city, with its opening planned for 2024.
Property plans include a 500-room hotel and a “world-class” casino gaming floor with over 1,300 slots, 85 live table games, 24 electronic table games, a WSOP poker room and a Caesars Sportsbook. In addition, the resort will feature a full-service spa, pool, high-quality bars and restaurants, a 2,500-seat live entertainment theater and 40,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.
Caesars Virginia is one of three casino resorts under development in the state. Rivers Casino Portsmouth opened Virginia’s first permanent casino in January. Danville was one of five cities qualified to consider a casino development through the state’s 2020 commercial gambling bill, and voters afterward strongly supported Caesars’ $650 million proposal.
