Virginia will see the state’s fifth casino open Thursday in the city of Petersburg. Live! Casino Virginia will first open as a temporary casino with 75,000 square feet of gaming space, 926 slot machines, 32 gaming tables, and a restaurant.
Cordish Companies owns the property. The Maryland-based operator will change the location when the permanent venue is completed. They expect to open the permanent property in 2028 and will include a hotel, several restaurants, and a large gaming space, all totaling almost 450,000 square feet.
Petersburg, with a population of about 34,000, became the home for the casino after Richmond voters twice rejected a plan to build a casino in that city. The new casino joins four other casinos in the state, located in Danville, Bristol, Portsmouth, and Norfolk.
Voters approved an amendment legalizing five casinos and sports betting in 2020.
Casino Expected To Generate $240M Annually For The City
Cordish estimates the temporary casino will create 500 jobs, including 180 dealer positions. The property is expected to have a major financial impact for the city of Petersburg.
At a ribbon-cutting for the casino on Thursday, Cordish representatives are expected to give the city a check for $15 million. City officials estimate receiving around $240 million annually in tax revenue from the property.
Petersburg is located about a half hour south of Richmond and seems likely to draw gamblers from the state’s capital city. Richmond boasts a metropolitan area with a population of about 1.3 million people.
The opening marks the fifth Live!-branded casino in the US. There’s one in Maryland, two in Pennsylvania, and one in Louisiana that opened in 2025.
No Poker Room For Now
The new Petersburg facility currently doesn’t offer a poker room and it’s unknown if the permanent facility will include a cardroom. Both properties in Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, house cardrooms, as does the Maryland casino. However, the casino in Bossier City, LA, doesn’t offer poker.
The Petersburg opening comes as state legislators are considering a bill to legalize online casino gaming and poker. Lawmakers have also introduced a bill to create a state gaming commission to oversee all aspects of the gambling industry. Three agencies currently regulate gambling in the commonwealth.
