New casino resort to open 90 minutes from Triangle; bookings start at $499 per night
For luxury casino-goers living in the Triangle, the chance to play slot machines under Caesars Palace’s bright lights, will soon be a lot closer to home.
Caesars Virginia, a $750 million casino resort at 1100 W. Main St. in Danville, Va., is slated top open on Dec. 12, officials confirm. The resort will welcome its first guests beginning at noon.
It’s about three miles across the North Carolina-Virginia border, just off U.S. 29 Business, on the site of the former Dan River Mills finishing plant in the Schoolfield Mill district.
It’s also just a 90-minute drive or less from the Triangle. Some Durham residents can get there in under an hour. (Before that, Harrah’s Cherokee in Cherokee, west of Charlotte, was the closest, fully developed casino resort. It’s in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina and about a five-hour drive from Raleigh.)
Caesars Virginia, where “Roman luxury meets Southern charm,” is the result of a years-long partnership between Caesars Entertainment, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the City of Danville.
Since last May, it’s opened Danville’s Casino, a temporary facility on the site. But the permanent casino is on track to open in late 2024, the partners confirmed this month.
It will have a gaming floor with more than 1,300 slots, 85 live table games, 24 electronic table games, a poker room and a Caesars Sportsbook, along with a full-service spa, pool, bars, a 2,500-seat theater for live entertainment and 40,000 square feet of convention space.
Some 12 restaurants will also be on site.
That includes the latest offering from Michelin-starred chef and television personality Gordon Ramsay, who will open his first Virginia restaurant with Ramsay’s Kitchen at Caesars Virginia. The 250-seat restaurant will sit adjacent to the hotel registration steps off the casino floor, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Starters will include options like “Virginia oysters and jumbo lump crab cakes.”
“Ramsay’s Kitchen brings an elevated dining option, not just to our resort,” said Chris Albrecht, senior vice president and general manager of Caesars Virginia, in an Oct. 15 release. It’s “a world-class option that the region hasn’t seen.”
The 320-room hotel tower is accepting reservations for April 2025. Caesars website lists nightly room rates at $499 weekdays and $699 weekends in April.
Another boon for the town: the casino is on a hiring spree. As of Oct. 29, some 108 job listings were active on its site.
A long-running controversy
In North Carolina, casinos are legal on tribal lands in the western part of the state, like Harrah’s Cherokee, but not elsewhere.
In recent years, advocates have argued for statewide casino legalization as a way to prevent neighboring states from taking away potential North Carolina revenue.
But after a months-long controversy between the legislative chambers on the subject last year, efforts have stalled.
In September 2023, GOP leaders of the North Carolina General Assembly reached a deal on a long-delayed state budget, The News & Observer reported. The compromise, however, didn’t include casino legislation.
Senate leader Phil Berger, the proposal’s chief proponent, said opponents had ignored how much rural counties could benefit from the revenue and jobs.
But ultimately, “the facts were almost beside the point,” he said. “This is the best, most prudent way for us to move forward.”
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling or texting 1-800-GAMBLER.
This story was originally published October 30, 2024 at 8:00 AM.
