This November, groundbreaking for a permanent casino north of the Tennessee border is expected. Hard Rock Bristol in Virginia already opened a temporary casino in the former Bristol Mall in July. The operator took the previous Belk department store space to host 20 table games and 870 slot machines, awaiting the construction of the permanent facility.
The construction of the permanent casino is expected to begin in November. Seminole Tribe of Florida, the parent company behind Hard Rock plans to spend over $350 million to construct a new hotel and resort.
This will feature 14 restaurants, a 20,000-seat outdoor arena, a 2,000-seat indoor concert venue, Hard Rock Café, and 300 guestrooms. All this will sit on over 100,000 square feet.
The number of slot machines will also increase from 870 to 1,500, while table games will shoot from 20 to 55. Additionally, the operator will launch a retail sportsbook on the property.
The Temporary Casino Is Doing Great
Hard Rock Bristol is among the four commercial casinos coming up in Virginia. It was the first legal gambling operator to open a temporary casino in the commonwealth’s history. Despite being the first, the operator has exceeded its goals.
President Allie Evangelista of Hard Rock Bristol told Bristol Herald Courier that the casino had welcomed around 40,000 visitors, whose visits totaled 109,000 since July. Allie also confirmed that at least one person from all American states had visited the Bristol casino in the past three months.
The most exciting part is that the casino had registered over 50,000 people to Unity, the operator’s reward program. The president noted this has around twice what the company predicted to register in the first quarter since launching the temporary facility.
Allie exclaimed that it was strong for the operator to register over 50,000 people on their database. She explained that visitors could sign up for the reward program online or in person.
Hard Rock Bristol has received around 8 percent of the town’s adult population. This is roughly 1,050 visitors. Meanwhile, over 2,200 county residents have visited the casino.
There have been other visitors from other states. However, Tennessee had the highest number, with over 4,000 people from Tn Washington County making the short trip to the facility.
Heading to a Busy Season?
Hard Rock Bristol’s President could not predict the number of visitors expected in the next few months. But, she has a rough idea after serving in various leadership roles, including her last position at Penn Entertainment.
She thinks business at Hard Rock will increase during the cold season. She noted that fall and winter usually meant more clients, which could mean more gaming revenue.
Allie noted that there is a lot less to do during winter. This means more people prefer going to casinos during their free time. However, she confirmed that she was still unsure of how the business would perform in winter.
The president said the casino registered fewer clients in September. Her explanation highlighted that September is usually slower as it means people are returning to school and changing seasons. Despite the decline in visitation, Allie confirmed this is normal in other markets too.
The casino generated around $14 million in September. Slot machines generated over $11 million.
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