Caesars Danville Casino Opens Monday, Locals Eager for Business Boom

Posted on: May 10, 2023, 10:16h. 

Last updated on: May 16, 2023, 08:12h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Caesars Entertainment plans to open its Danville Casino just north of the Virginia-North Carolina border next week on Monday, May 15. The 40,000-square-foot temporary gaming space is located inside a large pavilion tent.

Caesars Danville casino Virginia gambling
An aerial view of the Danville Casino, the temporary gaming space that will operate while construction continues on the forthcoming permanent resort property, Caesars Virginia. Caesars Entertainment is spending $650 million to make the Virginia southern city a casino destination. (Image: Caesars Virginia)

The Danville Casino is the precursor to the forthcoming permanent Caesars Virginia casino resort. The temporary gaming space featuring 740 slot machines, 25 table games, and 28 electronic table games will operate until the $650 million Caesars Virginia property is ready to open sometime in 2024.

Next week’s opening of the Danville Casino, as Caesars is calling the temporary space, is expected to immediately attract gamblers to the region. And many businesses nearby the pop-up casino are readying for an influx of patrons.

‘Get ready,'” is what local restaurant owner Steve Delgiorno said Caesars told him ahead of the Danville Casino’s opening. “We don’t know what to expect. We’re staffed up and we’re cautiously optimistic.”

Delgiorno owns Crema & Vine, a popular coffee shop and wine bar in Danville.

“We hope to see some people venture into Danville and see everything, not just our restaurant but everything else that the downtown has to offer,” Delgiorno told CBS7.

Schoolfield School Preps

The Danville community has largely embraced the arrival of Caesars Entertainment, one of the world’s largest gaming operators.

During the town’s 2020 local referendum asking residents if they wished to allow Caesars to invest $650 million to build a commercial casino and resort on the site of the former Dan River textile mill site, nearly 69% of the vote was in support.

Schoolfield Elementary School is less than four-tenths of a mile west of the casino site along W. Main Street. School officials say the campus fields about 150 daily car drop-offs. In anticipation of traffic congestion next week, parents are encouraged to drop their children off at River Oak Church. The school will then shuttle the children to school.

Danville Police and Schoolfield Elementary staff will be at the church drop-off. Schoolfield Elementary Principal LaTonya Simmons said ongoing transportation decisions will be made in response to how much traffic the Danville Casino brings into the area. Danville Public Schools is happy to welcome the casino despite the logistical challenges.

“This is a monumental event for Danville,” said Dr. Wayne Lyle, chief operations officer of Danville Public Schools. “We’ve never had something like this come to the city before. So, as a way of the school division being proactive, we just wanted to make sure we had a plan in place.”

Resort Details

Caesars Entertainment is retaining the Dan River Mills’ Three Sisters, the iconic smokestacks that have stood tall over the community for decades. The decommissioned brick chimney funnels will be a focal point of the integrated resort.

As for the property, the destination will come with an 18-story, 500-room hotel with a casino floor complemented by more than 1,300 slot machines, 85 live dealer table games, 24 electronic tables, and a World Series of Poker Room. A Caesars Sportsbook is an additional gaming amenity.

A 2,500-seat live theater, 40,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, numerous restaurants and bars, and retail shopping are additionally in the plan.