The Virginia Lottery Board regulator has reportedly awarded American casino operator Hard Rock International with a gambling license for its coming $400 million Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol property.

According to a Wednesday report from the local online news domain at VirginiaBusiness.com, the move for the Seminole Tribe of Florida-owned enterprise will allow it to open a 30,000 sq ft temporary casino featuring some 870 slots and 21 gaming tables on the same site from July 8. The source detailed that this interim Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock venue is to additionally have a Hard Rock merchandise store alongside a restaurant and a pair of sports bars and eventually be replaced by the permanent Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol facility.

Tempting timeline:

Hard Rock International is reportedly already responsible for twelve casinos spread across the United States including the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City enterprise and was given permission to bring its Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol scheme to the southern Virginia city in November of 2020 following the successful completion of a local referendum. The operator purportedly hopes to have this Las Vegas-style development open by the summer of 2024 complete with a 90,000 sq ft gaming floor in addition to a 25,000 sq ft sportsbook, up to 50 retail and food outlets and a hotel featuring as many as 1,000 rooms.

Rewarding recruitment:

Jon Lucas serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Hard Rock International and he reportedly used a statement to divulge that the coming Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol development is to moreover play host to a 3,200-seat performance venue as well as a 20,000-person outdoor entertainments facility. The experienced professional purportedly furthermore noted that his company has already hired about 100 employees for the Virginia scheme with the bulk of this group set to begin work ‘within 30 to 45 days of the opening of the temporary casino.’

Reportedly read a statement from Lucas…

“We are excited by the Virginia Lottery Board’s action in granting a license to open Virginia’s first casino in Bristol subject to the completion of outstanding operational activities. We appreciate the Virginia Lottery Board’s assistance and diligence in working closely with our team over many months to reach today’s important milestone for Bristol, southwest Virginia and the commonwealth.”

Studious sanction:

The license for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol is reportedly the first to be awarded after lawmakers passed legislation in April of 2020 that gave the cities of Norfolk, Danville, Bristol, Richmond and Portsmouth permission to host large casino resorts so long as their local populations agreed by means of individual referendums. The Chairman for the Virginia Lottery Board, Ferhan Hamid, purportedly proclaimed that his body was dedicated to this campaign and is now concerned with making sure all casino gaming is ‘conducted with integrity and in a responsible manner.’

Hamid’s statement reportedly read…

“Today’s approval reflects the confidence we have in the rigorous and conscientious review conducted by Virginia Lottery Board’s staff.”