Virginia’s Rose Gaming Resort opens, transforming a former landfill into a casino.
A site that used to be a landfill has been transformed into a gaming resort and casino destination covering an incredible 175,000 square feet.
The long-awaited Rose Gaming Resort Casino is now open in Northern Virginia, having faced several delays in construction.
The resort costing in excess of $460 million is key to providing local jobs and will generate millions in tax revenue for the Commonwealth.
The resort, which is located just off Interstate 95 in Dumfries, features a 102-room hotel, more than 1,600 historical horse racing terminals, a new seven-acre park, as well as playing fields contained in the 62-acre site, which is already attracting the interest of local people who turned up for the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.
Several Churchill Downs racecourse, state, and local officials participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday that brought out hundreds of people curious to take a look at the new facility.
State and local officials also attended the ceremony, including the Mayor of Dumfries, Derrick Wood, who said, “From a landfill to a landmark, the Rose marks a new era in Dumfries’ 275-year story.
“This project is transforming our town with 500 new jobs, millions in tax revenue to strengthen public services, and critical investments in our infrastructure.”
Rose Gaming Resort announced its opening on their Facebook page.
Another attendee, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Lohr, said: “The opening of the Rose marks an exciting step forward for Virginia’s long, proud tradition of live thoroughbred racing.”
It is expected that the resort will generate $35.5 million in annual tax revenue, add 16 additional days of live racing at Colonial Downs, and create economic opportunities for the state’s $2 billion equine industry.
Churchill Downs, Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said: “The Rose is committed to supporting the Prince William County Community with more than $2.4 million in monetary and in-kind contributions and pledges contributions to the town and local nonprofits.”
Carstanjen also pledged to local hiring and a strong wage for those employed.
Most of my career was spent in teaching including at one of the UK’s top private schools. I left London in 2000 and set up home in Wales raising four beautiful children. I enrolled at University where I studied Photography and film and gained a Degree and subsequently a Masters Degree. In 2014 I helped launch a new local newspaper and managed to get front and back page as well as 6 filler pages on a weekly basis. I saw that journalism was changing and was a pioneer of hyperlocal news in Wales. In 2017 I started one of the first 24/7 free independent news sites for Wales. Having taken that to a successful business model I was keen for a new challenge. Joining the company is exciting for me especially as it is a new role in Europe. I am keen to establish myself and help others to do the same.
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