Virginia: Danville city chooses Caesars to open potential casino

The City of Danville in Virginia announced Monday they are in negotiations with Caesars Entertainment to open a casino in the city.

Legislators voted in favor of casino legislation in April when they reconvened for a special session. Casinos were approved for five cities; Bristol, Danville, Richmond, Portsmouth and Norfolk. Since the casino bills have passed, residents of those cities will vote in a referendum to legalize casinos in November. If a majority approves in these localities, each locality will be able to open a full-scale commercial casino in their city.

The City of Danville said they are in negotiations with Caesars to be its preferred casino gaming operator, WSET reports. "We received several outstanding bids from a variety of companies competing to be Danville's choice for a resort casino," Mayor Alonzo Jones said. "The Caesars bid stood out as the best for our community."

The resort is proposed to be located at the former Dan River Mills industrial complex in Schoolfield with an anticipated capital investment of more than $400 million and the creation of 1,300 jobs with competitive benefit packages and average wages between $35,000 and $47,000 annually.

The City of Danville said it includes a plan for up to 500 hotel rooms, a 35,000 square-foot conference center, a 2,500 seat live entertainment venue, multiple restaurants and bars, and 2,000 slot machines, 75 table games, 16 poker tables, and a sportsbook.

They said the project should be completed in 2023 and, in the interim, is expected to generate 900 construction jobs.

The city claims the project is estimated to generate more than $20 million in annual revenue from gaming taxes and supplemental payments to the city, based on gaming revenue. It is also projected to generate approximately $4 million in direct additional annual taxes from real estate, meals, sales, and hotel taxes. The proposal includes at least $20 million in upfront payments to the city to pay for land acquisition and other public investments.

"Ideally, both the Schoolfield and White Mill sites will be redeveloped as a result of this project," Interim Director of Economic Development Carrie Bobe said. "As a Danville native, I know how important the redevelopment of the White Mill is to our collective sense of pride. This is an iconic structure within our community, and we are as determined as ever to ensure that it will be brought back to life as we continue to transform our riverfront."

Danville leaders said they plan to use the nearly $35 million in new annual revenues from the resort, if allowed and when operational, in a variety of ways to make strategic investments in every part of the city to encourage new investment and new opportunities.