The opening of Norfolk’s long-awaited temporary gaming facility next to Harbor Park means more competition on the horizon for Rivers Casino Portsmouth, which opened in 2023 as the first permanent casino in Virginia.
The anticipated opening of a hotel at Rivers Casino in 2027 as well as casino earnings that show no signs of slowing suggest a positive financial outlook, at least for now. And Portsmouth has an advantage by being the region’s first, while Norfolk will have to catch up.
But the long-term outlook is less certain. Perhaps the bigger threat to the livelihood of both casinos has less to do with their proximity to one another and more with economic challenges and changes in the gaming industry.
