Construction continues on the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol in Virginia, as the temporary casino, the first in Virginia, anticipates its 1-year anniversary in July. Allie Evangelista, president of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol, said the event will celebrate the community and especially Hard Rock employees.
She told the Kingsport Times News, “It’s a milestone, a milestone of teaching everyone about the industry. They’ve been working here for a year and their lives have changed. It’s been so exciting hearing from these team members. I’m starting to hear how this job is changing their lives, how they’re able to upgrade a car.
“I have a team member who just purchased a house for the first time. One of them purchased an RV. They’re planning vacations they’ve never had the chance to take. I’m thinking, ‘Why not celebrate our team members and our community?’”
Evangelista said the permanent Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol still is on track to open in July 2024. The venue will have a 300-room hotel, spa, gym, outdoor pool and live music venue, plus dining options including the Hard Rock Cafe, Council Oak Steakhouse, an Asian restaurant and a large food hall.
Evangelista noted demolishing the former Sears and JCPenney stores at the former Bristol Mall provided additional parking space and also allowed Hard Rock “to push out the casino floor and hotel that are being built from scratch. That is great because we can do it the way Hard Rocks are done everywhere else. They provide a great quality of air, with very high ceilings, whether it’s non-smoking or not. It’s a great experience for our guests,” Evangelista told the Times News.
The permanent facility also will offer a 300,000- square-foot casino floor with 1,300 slot machines and 50 table games throughout smoking and non-smoking gaming areas. Evangelista said, “Anything we try out here is really relative to the space. It’s going to be a while until we have a finalized construction plan and have experts build that floor. But it’s going to be sizeable for sure, especially compared to what we have now.”
The temporary facility currently includes 890 slots and 29 table games and a sportsbook, plus nonsmoking and high-limit areas. Originally, the temporary facility included 870 slots and 21 table games. “We are working on the expansion of some of our gaming offerings. We added 20 games to the floor. Those are state-of-the-art and not available everywhere,” Evangelista said.
The new games include two new blackjack tables in the high limit area, a Blackjack table and Mississippi stud table in the non-smoking area, eight new Dragon Link machines in the high limit area and 20 new Sega Sammy slot machines. Evangelista said 43 additional slots will be added for a total of 63 new machines since the casino opened. Also, Evangelista said, in response to guests’ requests, the non-smoking area will be expanded.
The success of the temporary casino has generated an extra $100 million in revenue, making it possible to add a pool and spa to the first phase of construction of the permanent facility, Evangelista said.
The venue generated more than $13.7 million in adjusted gross revenue from slots and table games in January and February and $15 million in December 2022, according to Virginia Lottery figures. More than 600,000 people have visited since the temporary casino opened. It has provided $5.4 million for the Regional Improvement Commission, which shares revenue with local governments in Southwest Virginia.
“It’s pretty impressive to see those numbers. It’s very much above all of the expectations at all levels, including slots, table games, food and beverage. The success we’re seeing out of the temporary is way higher than anticipated,” Evangelista told the Times News.
Evangelista said she anticipates hiring 600 employees in addition to the current 600 when the new casino opens. “We are still adding team members to our pool. We can’t really stop doing that. If we want to open a facility that has more table games in 2024, we have to have more team members ready to deal in 2024. That is going to be an ongoing opportunity for folks in the area to join the table game dealer school,” she said.
Evangelista also announced Hard Rock will partner with the Cameo Theatre in Bristol. “This partnership is a natural fit. The Cameo is an historic venue that is part of Bristol’s rich music legacy. At Hard Rock, music of all genres is an important part of our DNA of who we are as a company,” she said.
