Hard Rock Breaks Ground on Permanent Bristol Casino

• The permanent Hard Rock Casino & Hotel Bristol broke ground last Wednesday at its 500 Gate City Highway location.
• The 300,000 square foot permanent casino will feature 1,300 slot machines, 50 table moors betting online, and a retails sportsbook.
• Hard Rock’s temporary casino dubbed as “Bristol Casino- Future moors online betting of Hard Rock: opened last July as the first full-service casino in Virginia.

Hard Rock International held the groundbreaking ceremony of its permanent Bristol Casino at its 500 Gate City Highway location last Wednesday.

The event featured the traditional commemorative shovel groundbreaking by Hard Rock officials and local community leaders.

In a statement Hard Rock International COO Jon Lucas said:

“From the very start, this property’s economic and community impact has surpassed expectations, and we are thrilled to unveil what’s coming next. We are especially grateful to our local partners, Jim McGlothlin and Clyde Stacy, whose vision has made all this possible. Building on our momentum, and with the incredible support from the Virginia Lottery and the Bristol community, we are ready to begin the next chapter.”

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol

All the #Virginia casino news you can handle, courtesy of @BennettConlin, including Hard Rock breaking ground in Bristol and the ongoing debate between Richmond and Petersburg for the state’s fifth property:https://t.co/aruoDQoMIq

— US Bets (@US_Bets) December 8, 2022,

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol will be a 300,000 square feet gambling facility that will feature 1,300 slot machines, 50 table moors betting online, a sportsbook, multiple dining options, including a signature Hard Rock Cafe and fine dining restaurant Council Oak Steaks and Seafood, Constant Grind, a Rock Shop, a Hard Rock Live Entertainment venue, authentic music memorabilia, and many others.

Construction is expected to generate 900-1000 temporary jobs and when the permanent casino is up and running, it will employ 1,200 full-time and part-time workers.

While the permanent casino is under construction, the temporary full-service casino named “Bristol Casino – Future moors online betting of Hard Rock has been operating since last July at the former Belk Store of the Bristol Mall. That interim gambling space has 30,000 square feet of gaming, with 870 slot machines, 21 table moors betting online, and a sportsbook. The casino has a non-smoking area and a high-limit area.

1st Casino to Open in Virginia

Hard Rock International opened a temporary full-scale casino in Bristol, Virginia, which is the first of four planned casinos to open in the commonwealth now that casino gambling is legal. https://t.co/oIrktf7XrW

— The Center Square (@thecentersquare) July 11, 2022

Bristol was one of five Virginia cities that were given a chance by the state to open a casino in their jurisdiction. The city was one of the four to approve their casino measure during a referendum and had the highest approval rate with 70% of its residents saying yes to the construction of a casino.

The other cities to move forward with their casino plans were Danville where 69% of the residents voted “YES”, Portsmouth which had 67% approval, and Norfolk where 65% of the voters affirmed their casino measure. Meanwhile, the Urban One casino project in Richmond was the only one to fail with 51% of its residents disapproving of the construction of a casino.

Among the four cities which voted to approve their casino measure, Bristol was the first to open a casino, doing so last July via the temporary Bristol casino. In the latest report from Virginia regulators for the month of September 2022, the interim Bristol casino topped the $14 in revenues in two consecutive months. Overall, the casino has generated $40.3 milion dollars in adjusted gaming revenue through September 30 and has paid a total of $7.2 million in taxes to the state.