Portsmouth, Virginia has moved one step closer to opening a casino – the Rivers Casino Portsmouth – after the town’s mayor announced a date for the project’s groundbreaking. According to Mayor Shannon Glover, the project is to commence on December 7.
With construction now expected to go ahead, the new casino is expected to open at some point in late 2022 or early 2023.
The proposed site is due to be built at I-264 and Victory Boulevard, next to Tidewater Community College, and will be operated by Rush Street, the casino and entertainment group based out of Chicago which already oversees casinos in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York.
In November 2020, Portsmouth was one of four towns in the Old Dominion where voters approved ballot measures to build casinos. The others were Norfolk, Danville and Bristol. The one holdout was Richmond, where voters shot down a measure that would see a $565m casino project constructed.
Last May, architectural renderings of the Portsmouth site were released. They show a $300m facility which will have adaptable features, enabling Rivers Casino to cater to different segments of the community. In addition to a casino floor, there will be a sportsbook, fine dining establishments, live entertainment capacity, a hotel, and an events space that will be able to host concerts, weddings and corporate meetings.
Said Delceno Miles, a spokesperson for the Rivers Casino, regarding the design: “Our goal is to exceed the expectation of Portsmouth residents who voted overwhelmingly for the project. Rivers Casino Portsmouth looks forward not only to being the first destination casino to open in Virginia – but also the best.”
The project is expected to initially bring 1,400 temporary construction jobs to the area, and – once constructed – 1,300 permanent jobs to the community.
