Caesars Virginia held a topping-off ceremony Thursday to celebrate the progress that has been made on the construction of its hotel, which will be just one feature of the permanent casino resort that is opening in Danville late this year.
The construction of the 12-story hotel has “truly changed the skyline of Danville,” Chris Albrecht, Caesars Virginia general manager, said at the ceremony.
“This is real, this is actually really happening, and it’s hard to miss,” Albrecht said. “Every time I walk around and talk to folks here in the city, all they reference is how, no matter where they’re driving from, they can see it.”
“Topping off” a new building usually involves placing the last beam on top of the structure during construction.
A tree is also often placed atop buildings during these ceremonies, which is what Caesars did Thursday. The practice comes from a Scandinavian religious rite, Albrecht explained at the ceremony.
“It’s to show that the tree itself is more important than what we’re building here,” Albrecht said. “We may have disrupted the ground here to get to that point … but that tree would be the tallest point.”
A crane raised a tree and an American flag to the top floor of the hotel during the ceremony.
The construction progress also signifies that Caesars is bringing more than just a casino to Danville, Albrecht said.
The hotel will have floor-to-ceiling windows, 320 rooms, including 28 suites, a spa on the main floor and a pool. The full resort will also have meeting and convention space, restaurants and bars, and an entertainment venue.
“This is going to be a resort destination,” Albrecht said. “When you chose Caesars, you said we want more than a casino. This hotel shows that we’re going to be bringing amazing customers to stay in these rooms.”
Albrecht said the temporary casino sees about 100,000 visitors per month. He also said that Caesars expects that number to grow substantially when the resort is complete.
The hotel will also create new jobs in Danville. Caesars Virginia has about 440 employees right now, but that number will at least double to staff the full resort.
Caesars has partnered with Averett University to create a hospitality program, which will provide a pipeline of home-grown talent into the industry. And Caesars already has 12 employees that are part of that program, Albrecht said.
Construction is still on schedule for the doors of the permanent resort to open in late 2024.
“I’m happy to finally start saying that we’re going to be opening this year,” Albrecht said.
