While sports betting in Virginia and casinos are important revenue sources, casino revenue in the state slightly declined in April, except for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, which experienced a narrow increase in adjusted gross revenue.
Some Thrive While Others Lag
There are two active casinos in Virginia with several more under construction but the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, operating out of a temporary facility, showed a mild increase with $14.04 million in revenue, up from $13.83 million in March. And of that figure, slots generated $11.29 million from its 888 machines while $2.75 million was derived from the casino’s 29 table games.
Rivers Casino functions out of a permanent and larger facility than that of the Hard Rock which is reflected in its higher numbers. However, unlike the Hard Rock in Bristol, Rivers showed a slight decrease in its April numbers reporting $21.33 million in April, down from the $23.7 million it produced in March, a decrease of approximately $2.4 million.
The $21.3 million generated was comprised of $13.83 million coming from its 1,420 slot machines and $7.50 million from its 81 table games.
Overall, the two casinos combined for $35.37 million in adjusted gaming revenue (AGR) in April which was down slightly from the $37.4 million delivered in March. The revenues produced $6.84 million in taxes that were earmarked for Virginia’s Gaming Proceeds Fund.
Rivers Gets Fined
Rush Street Gaming’s Rivers Casino Portsmouth agreed to settle on a $275,000 fine instead of proceeding through a costly administrative hearing to determine if the infractions were valid. Among the casino’s alleged violations were:
- Allowing an individual whose name was on the state’s self-excluded list onto the gaming floor.
- Allowing underage players to enter the casino floor.
- Failure to properly license specific slot machines.
The infractions occurred before and after the January 23rd casino’s grand opening but at least one lawmaker doesn’t believe this is indicative of a pattern.
Senator Supports Rivers Casino Amidst Infractions
State Sen. Louise Lucas, who sponsored the bill for Rivers to obtain its Virginia gaming license and become Virginia’s first full-service casino, said, “I’m not gonna allow anybody to clobber Rivers Casino over the head because they might have made a few missteps. They’re working on fixing it, and I trust them to do it.”
Rivers spokeswoman Kelli Webb confirmed that the company had already paid the $275,000 fine to the Lottery Board. “We take these matters very seriously and respect the decision of the Virginia Lottery Board. We cooperated fully and share the VLB’s commitment to compliance and regulatory vigilance,” Webb said in a statement.
The minimum age to gamble in Virginia is 21 and Webb added, “Rivers Casino Portsmouth checks IDs for all individuals entering the gaming floor.”
The lottery’s executive director, Kelly Gee, proposed the settlement amount and stated, “Rivers has cooperated fully with the Lottery’s inquiry into these matters,” according to the settlement agreement, and “has taken corrective measures and has developed a corrective action plan to ensure future compliance with the Casino Gaming Law and its related regulations.”
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