With the help of visitors from North Carolina, Caesars Danville in Danville, Virginia continues to be a bright spot for parent company Caesars Entertainment.
The company reported this week in its 2024 second-quarter results that Caesars’ temporary facility in Danville helped to counterbalance a downturn in year-over-year regional segment revenues.
As North Carolina casinos remain a sore spot for lawmakers and voters, residents in the triangle and beyond continue to head across state lines to visit Caesars’ temporary property.
Optimism for finished projects later in 2024
Competition in new markets and construction disruption were among the factors that led to Caesars’ 5.2% decrease in quarterly revenues compared to 2023, at $1.38 billion. However, according to Caesars Entertainment president and COO Anthony Carano, the losses were “offset by performance from our Danville and Nebraska properties.”
Carano and other Caesars executives expressed optimism about the opening of the permanent Danville casino, Caesars Virginia, and a renovated Caesars New Orleans later this year.
“We look forward to the completion of our newly rebranded Caesars property in New Orleans in October and the opening of the Danville permanent facility in December.”
Danville’s 2024 Performance
Just four miles north of the North Carolina border, Danville is a popular gambling venue in the area with an influx of Tar Heel State residents. With 826 slot machines and 36 table games, it had $19 million in gaming revenue in June, following a record-setting revenue month in May at a little over $21 million.
The parent company also had a tough first quarter, yet the Danville location performed well. When the permanent facility opens, it will have 1,300 slot machines, 85 table games, a poker room, 24 electronic table games, a sportsbook, and a 320-room hotel. It will also have a 2,500-seat theater plus meeting and convention space. Caesars expects to contribute between 900 and 1,300 jobs, which could be a boon for both Virginia and North Carolina employment.
Caesars sports betting in North Carolina
The Caesars Sportsbook is available in both North Carolina and Virginia. Adding a retail sportsbook to Danville would bring the number of brick-and-mortar Caesars Sportsbooks in Virginia and North Carolina combined to three.
The operator has an agreement with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians that includes Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel in Murphy. Both casinos have a Caesars-branded retail sportsbook.
Unlike the regional sector, the digital sector, which includes online sports betting, performed well for Caesars in the second quarter. Net revenues were up 27.8% year-over-year to $276 million.
Caesars Sports and Online Gaming president Eric Hession provided details on the company’s digital performance during the call.
Our product on the sports side continues to improve and our customers are reacting positively to our increasing mix of parlay and in-game offerings. We continue to drive growth in our parlay wagers with the percentage of that type of wager growing 380 basis points year-over-year, consistent with the trends we’ve observed throughout the year.
One feature that puts Caesars at the forefront of the online sports betting landscape is NFL streaming. Caesars Sportsbook users can take advantage of this feature for nationally televised games when they’re away from their TV and want to check in on a game and any NFL betting action they mave have placed.
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