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Danville City Council OKs changes to casino agreement
Exactly one year ago Wednesday, Danville’s temporary casino opened, inching the city closer toward becoming a tourism destination.
Housed in a giant tent-like structure — although once inside it’s hard to believe it’s a makeshift building — lines of eager patrons with money in hand awaited the doors to officially open at 10 a.m. May 15, 2023.
With the full resort expected to be in operation by the end of the year, the shift will move from a day-trip style visit to more of a vacation getaway.
“This is a different type of visitor that we truly haven’t seen as much of in this community,” Lisa Meriwether, tourism manager with Visit SoSi, told the Register & Bee in an interview Monday. “It’s all about people, that for the most part, never sought out Danville as destination.”
That should soon change.
Work continues on the full Caesars Virginia resort expected to open by the end of 2024.
It all started in late 2018 when Danville caught the eye of the casino industry.
Through those early talks, wrangling in the General Assembly and a voter referendum, the casino vision started taking shape. City voters passed the referendum in November 2020 to allow Caesars Virginia — the casino selected by the city — to bring an entertainment operation to Danville.
The casino is located at the site of the former Schoolfield Mill, part of the sprawling Dan River Inc. textile manufacturer that once was synonymous with Danville. It still maintains iconic smokestacks called The Three Sisters.
In May 2022, officials announced the project — originally expected to be finished by the second or third quarter of 2023 — would be pushed back to 2024, blaming supply chain issues and labor shortages following the pandemic.
That eventually led Caesars Virginia to open a temporary spot while construction ramped up on the permanent resort.
“The temporary facility, Danville Casino Future Home of Caesars, has far exceeded our expectations from a team member and customer perspective,” Chris Albrecht, senior vice president and general manager, told the Register & Bee. “We have learned a lot about our customer preferences for products and experiences in our temporary operation and using that information to shape what we will bring to our permanent facility later this year.”
To celebrate the one-year milestone, Caesars Virginia plans to give away $35,000 in promotional prize money to “loyal Caesars Rewards members.”
Of the 453 current employees, 75% are from Danville, according to Carmen Kesel, director of marketing for Caesars.
“Our team members embody our family style service culture daily and welcome guests from all over the country to Danville,” Albrecht said.
Originally planning to employ at least 1,300, Caesars and the city of Danville agreed to lower that figure to range of 900 to 1,300 in a revised agreement approved last week. Casino and city officials pointed to a changed landscape following COVID-19, resulting in fewer workers needed.
Another change in the agreement upped the investment to $750 million from the original $400 million, mostly blamed on skyrocketing material prices in a post-pandemic world.
A rendering displays what the full Caesars Virginia resort will look like when it opens later this year.
To date, the city has received $39.22 million from Caesars, Michael Adkins, the city of Danville finance director, confirmed to the newspaper. That includes a lump sum of $15 million after residents approved the referendum, $5 million to buy the Schoolfield site and $360,000 paid to Danville “to offset costs related to the Schoolfield Property Master Plan,” Adkins said.
Danville garners tax revenues from casino operations determined by a state formula. So far, the taxes passed along from the commonwealth total $13.31 million.
However, Danville’s agreement adds more money to the city’s coffers. On top of taxes from the state, the city receives direct payments from Caesars as well.
To date, that’s resulted in an extra $5.54 million. Those direct payments come from a stipulation in the agreement where the city gets 2.5% of adjusted gross receipts — gross receipts less winnings paid to customers, Adkins explained — up to $200 million per year.
If that figure ranges from $200 million to $400 million, the city receives 6%. If it tops $400 million, the city will get 10%.
At the minimum, Danville will receive $5 million a year from Caesars. This part of the contract was put in place right after the pandemic shut down casinos nationwide. Should such an event happen in the future, Danville will still receive a stream of revenue.
“From what I understand, Danville is the only city in Virginia to have negotiated a direct payment from the casino operator, and I believe this is a rarity nationwide,” Adkins said.
By the end of this fiscal year in June, Danville City Manager Ken Larking anticipates $20 million in gaming revenues from Caesars. About $25 million is budgeted for the next fiscal year, factoring in the resort’s expected opening by the end of 2024.
The current contract with Caesars has no end date, Larking confirmed to the Register & Bee on Monday.
“It would be highly unlikely for a company that’s invested over $750 million in a property to walk away, so we don’t anticipate that occurring,” the city manager said.
However, if Caesars were to decide to sell the project, the company would have to get approval from the city first.
“The new owner would be held to the same contract requirements,” Larking explained.
With the estimated $38 million yearly casino revenue for the full resort, the city put together a committee of residents — Investing in Danville — to identify areas to spend the money, Larking explained.
“The investments we plan to make using casino revenue in education, workforce development, economic development, economic opportunity, public safety, improved quality of life and financial stability will enable Danville to put into overdrive our already successful efforts to improve our community,” Larking said.
He also hopes residents will be able to take advantage of what he calls new economic opportunities. Those include higher-wage jobs, starting a new business or growing an existing one.
“We continue to be pleased with our selection of Caesars Virginia as the casino operator in Danville,” he said. “We have a good working relationship with their leadership team.”
Meriwether also is working closely with the casino resort team that’s looking to be “ready to go” with entertainment and conferences when it opens.
Hundreds of people from all over the region line up along West Main Street and Bishop Road and in front of the building waiting for the doors to open at Danville Casino on May 15, 2023.
“We are going to be attracting a very, very different visitor in this community,” she said.
Visit SoSi — itself celebrating a one-year anniversary — will have a visitor information presence inside the casino filled with details about the Dan River Region.
“When you think about the number of people that will be coming through those doors,” she said of being able to expose these new tourists to “all the great things there are to see and do.”
She pointed to the “nice” but “limited-service” lodging available in Danville now compared to an upscale resort.
Patrons play games at Danville Casino, Caesars Virginia’s temporary gaming facility, after it opened its doors May 15, 2023, in Schoolfield. 
“It’s a very different experience and one that people really truly want to experience,” she said of what Caesars will offer. “And something we have not had in Danville.”
Meriwether said data still shows about 2 million annual visitors to the area when the full resort opens. Right now, on average, the temporary version brings in about 100,000 per month.
She also stressed that the casino is only part of the experience. Those who aren’t gaming customers may come for other things like the celebrity-inspired restaurants at the resort.
She herself isn’t a gamer and rarely buys a lottery ticket.
But she said she loves good food. That in itself is enough to bring people for a weekend getaway.
The goal, for the newly created tourism initiative, is to get those new visitors out in the the community. In fact, two weeks ago Visit SoSi launched an outdoor adventure guide for Danville and Pittsylvania County.
“All the great things there are to see and do in our community,” are contained in that new outdoor guide, she said.
“One of the greatest results of this tourism program that I have witnessed has been being able to collaborate and partner with so many of our tourism partners in this community,” Meriwether said, explaining previously many were working in “silos.”
Now there’s collaboration.
In July, Visit SoSi will cast a larger net, launching a digital and print media marketing program for places like Richmond, the Tidewater area and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Basically it’ll be areas within a two to three hour drive.
“We want people to now know that they have another option” when it comes to planning vacations and such, she said.
Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the temporary Danville Casino in Schoolfield on May 15, 2023,
Meriwether knows more people will be in Danville once the resort opens, referencing the tossed-about terms game-changer and transformational.
“We’ve worked to be as proactive as possible in anticipating the impact of casino gaming in our community,” Larking explained. “We certainly anticipate more vehicles related to tourism activity and population growth, which is exactly what we hoped would happen as a result of all our economic development efforts.”
Since the temporary facility opened, Larson hasn’t seen any issues with the increased traffic in the area.
“I am not aware of any unusual unforeseen circumstances, since they opened last year,” he said.
Henry Richardson, assistant chief of the services division with the Danville Police Department, also said they’ve seen no traffic or major crime issues since the opening a year ago.
He openly praised the working relationship between the police department and leadership with Caesars.
“Caesars Entertainment has shown they value and emphasize crime prevention and community safety for those in and around the new facility,” he said.
In the first year of operation, there were 54 total incidents reported at Danville Casino, Richardson said when responding to a request from the Register & Bee.
“The majority of criminal incidents reported have been crimes of opportunity including the theft of vouchers, wallets, purses, credit cards or valuables left in common areas, machines or vehicles,” he said. “When the incidents have occurred, Caesars has been great partners utilizing their technology and security team to identify suspects that lead to arrests and prosecutions.”
A total of 13 of those incidents were informational and not related to an offense. That leaves only 41 criminal incidents.
“Of the 41 criminal incident reports, one was unfounded, an arrest was made or warrant is already on file for 17, while 11 are still active investigations likely to lead to charges,” he explained to the newspaper.
To put it in perspective, Walmart had 275 reported incidents over the same timeframe.
“Caesars has been a great community addition and partner as we continue to actively plan with the security and leadership to prepare for the grand opening of the full scale Caesars Virginia resort in late 2024,” he said.
Charles Wilborn (434) 791-7976
cwilborn@registerbee.com
@CWilbornGDR on Twitter
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Danville City Council OKs changes to casino agreement
Work continues on the full Caesars Virginia resort expected to open by the end of 2024.
A rendering displays what the full Caesars Virginia resort will look like when it opens later this year.
Hundreds of people from all over the region line up along West Main Street and Bishop Road and in front of the building waiting for the doors to open at Danville Casino on May 15, 2023.
Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the temporary Danville Casino in Schoolfield on May 15, 2023,
Patrons play games at Danville Casino, Caesars Virginia’s temporary gaming facility, after it opened its doors May 15, 2023, in Schoolfield. 
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