Rivers Casino Portsmouth Virginia Still on Track for 2023 Opening

Rivers Casino Portsmouth had its topping-off ceremony on May 10. Topping-off is a builders’ rite going back to ancient times in Scandinavia. It celebrates the completion of the building’s vertical construction.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth Raises Beam

The official event consisted of three main celebratory activities. As mentioned, at the heart of the celebration was raising and bolting into place a Rivers-yellow steel beam. The beam-raising ceremony featured some celebratory music, words from Roy Corby, general manager at Rivers Casino Portsmouth, and other dignitaries, including Senator L. Louise Lucas, Mayor Shannon Glover, and Justin Ballard from S.B. Ballard Construction Company. Ballard-Yates is a strategic partnership between the S.B. Ballard Construction Company and Yates Construction, a local and national contractor respectively.

The bolt was signed by the crew themselves, the Rivers Casino Portsmouth leadership, and some local officials, and it was complemented by an appreciation lunch for the entire constructions crew hosted by the Rivers Casino Portsmouth developer and operator, Rush Street Gaming.

The global and local supply chain disruptions, work organization problems, and labor shortages were all a direct result of the recent global pandemic. The ceremonial groundbreaking was held during pandemic-ridden times in December 2021 so the top-off ceremony coming so soon afterward and on time has coincided with the casino’s plans.

Marking the Successful End of Challenge-Ridden Process

The announcement by Rivers Casino Portsmouth that the entire process is going according to plan lays further assurance that the $300-million resort will be on time for its 2023 open. It’s important to note that the opening date cannot be set in stone in advance as it’s heavily dependent on licensing and regulatory procedures.

 “Despite supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, we are still on track to complete this project in early 2023,” said Justin Ballard, S.B. Ballard Construction Company.

The complex will feature a casino, multiple premier restaurants plus a live entertainment lounge, a 300-room hotel, an event center, and to round it all off – a BetRivers Sportsbook. All these venues are going to be the result of around 1,400 people working construction jobs and once everything is up and running will represent around 1,300 new permanent jobs.

Jobs that are going to be near Tidewater Community College’s Portsmouth campus at which Rush Street is organizing a job fair today, May 12. This will be the first of a few planned to be held on a monthly basis starting this Thursday through September.