Rivers Casino Portsmouth: Betting Big

"Portsmouth has been a great partner," casino general manager Roy Corby told me, adding that when Rush Street Gaming looked at all of the opportunities to build a casino in Virginia, Portsmouth was at the top of their list.

"I think it was the best decision they could’ve made because they have really embraced us and want to work with us. I couldn’t ask for a better relationship."

Corby said his most pressing challenge heading into the opening night will be to find 1,300 workers, which includes dealers, slot techs, food servers, housekeepers, IT, HVAC, and more

"TCC has been an unbelievable partner to us. The Portsmouth Economic Council has been a great partner for us, getting us in front of the right people, letting people know about our job fairs," Corby said.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth is yet to be licensed, but Corby said they've spent $100 million so far on a $300 million project with confidence they will get the green light. 

Corby said even before the casino opens, people across Hampton Roads are likely to see evidence of the property's commitment to nonprofits.

In Pittsburgh, there are many weekends where casino workers are out cleaning a park or working at a food bank. A director of community relations was the fourth person hired in Portsmouth, a year before the casino's opening. 

"She's out there in the community now meeting with all of the nonprofits, working with the different chambers, seeing where we can make the most good where we can make a change, how do we how can we get involved," Corby added.

Kool & The Gang opened the entertainment center in Pittsburgh. As for the lineup in Portsmouth, Corby said he'll look to fill in what's missing and complement what's already happening at venues around Hampton Roads, hinting the casino might feature local talent.

"Maybe some famous Portsmouth residents, for example ... things like that," Corby said.

Since opening in 2009, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh is the place to be seen and a place to people watch, a place to have a good meal and catch the latest headliner, and a place to try your luck.

The Rush Street Gaming property repeatedly has been named one of the best places to work in Pittsburgh.

"I have a good life. Rivers Casino gave me a better life," Russell Knox, a long-time roulette dealer, proudly stated.

Every Rivers Casino property has a linen-table-cloth restaurant. In Pittsburgh, it is celebrity cook Steve Martorano, whose "Martorano's Prime" steak house boasts a top-shelf wine list and entrees that run as much $75.

Since opening, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh has added a $5 million sports book, and a $60 million hotel is set to open soon.

"That's the great thing about Rush Street Gaming. They opened this place in 2009 and they didn't walk away from it. They continue to invest in the property," Green said.

The casino is at the center of a boom of commercial and residential development along the Ohio River and there's every confidence here that Portsmouth will see a similar payoff. 

"That's a no-brainer. That's going to happen," Green added.

Executives said the biggest challenge has been to sell the casino as more than just slots and table games.

"Are we in the gaming business? Absolutely," said Shannon Redmond, the Assistant Director of Marketing. Redmond's job is to sell the casino as an entertainment destination. "I believe when you are opening a new property, it's about showing everyone what's out there," Redmond added.    

In 2019, Kool & the Gang opened the casino's 2,000-seat event center. The entertainment lineup in Pittsburgh is designed to draw in new customers and keep the regulars coming back. The room also is booked for boxing, business meetings, and customized weddings. 

"We do DJs on the floor on the weekends. Again, these are DJs that are local and known in Pittsburgh," Redmond said.

Since opening, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh has been a big winner.  Last year, the property took in close to $380 million in revenue, a 36% increase over the previous year. The same year, Pennsylvania's casinos generated a record $5 billion in revenue.

Rivers Casino Pittsburgh has shared the wealth with local non-profits and the plan is to do the same in Portsmouth. As for the casino's relationship with Pittsburgh city officials, executives called it critical to their success. 

"They understand our needs, We understand theirs. We really work collaboratively to make it happen," Green said.

There is no doubt, Pittsburgh sports fans bleed black and gold. The Steelers. The Penguins. The Pirates. 

So, it's no surprise when Rivers Casino Pittsburgh opened its $5 million state-of-the-art retail sportsbook, success followed quickly.

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board numbers show Rivers Casino Pittsburgh handled more than $330 million in sports bets last year, with the state collecting $6 million in taxes.

"I think people are just innately interested in sports, and the betting piece just comes along with it," explained Andre Barnabei, who is the casino's vice president of gaming. 

13News Now got an exclusive look at the BetRivers Sportsbook in Pittsburgh, a 5,500 square-foot space complete with 55-foot high-def TV monitors and a host of high-def 86-inch monitors. There are 200 club chairs, plenty of space for fantasy football drafts. Sports radio is here. 

The same set-up is coming to Portsmouth.

"What I like here is the Baltimore Orioles game," Darrell told me as he places his morning bets at one of the casino's 33 self-service kiosks. "I generally walk out of here up on sports bets. I walk out of here down on craps," he added.    

You can bet on almost everything here from the PGA tour to Major League Baseball, tennis to table tennis.

"The nice thing about sports betting today is not only can you bet on the game before it begins, [but] you also can bet on things in the game and during the game," Barnabei said.

You can bet on whether the next pitch will be a ball or strike, or a birdie or bogey in a PGA event. Barnabei said that real-time betting has been a big addition to the experience. 

The odds at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh are set by an international company. It's a team that studies sports, works on algorithms, and manages the casino's risk.

"Sports betting is a very data-driven industry. There are people a lot smarter than me behind the screens that are really plugging and chugging on algorithms, and computer systems," Barnabei said.

The minimum bet is just $5 so no one here has to come out of their pocket too much. As for whether you can bet your heart...

"Oh, you absolutely can," Barnabei said. "Look, at the end of the day, it's gambling. Some people are going to win. Some people are going to lose. Everyone always thinks they can pick a winner. But the reality is there's no one person out there who can pick every game."

Barnabei jokingly added that sports betting has been around longer than we know, but at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, it's still very much in its infancy. 

And it's not just a man's game.

"We have groups of men, groups of women, old, young, all walks of life coming together to just enjoy the environment and enjoy the events," he said.

Rivers Casino Pittsburgh takes bets on local teams like the Penguins, the Steelers, and Pitt football. I'm told the licensing process in Virginia will determine whether bets can be placed in Portsmouth on UVA football or ODU football.

Whether it's slots or table games, blackjack or poker, when the bells and whistles go off at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, bet on the house to win.

"I'm not having a very good day," one gambler told us.

Through the casino's "Rivers Gives" program, a host of community partners, in and around the Pittsburgh area have hit the jackpot.

"To work for a company that authentically is in partnership with the community means a lot," said Rahmon Hart, who is Rivers Casino Pittsburgh's Director of Community Engagement.

It's personal for Hart.

"I grew up just a few blocks from here in Manchester," Hart told me.  The former Perry High School football star who went on to play at Slippery Rock University gets a bit emotional thinking about how far his old neighborhood has come, once an abandoned industrial site on the city's North Shore.

"It just means a lot to meet a need for the community," Hart added.

Since opening in 2009, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh has contributed millions of dollars to a long list of charities in the Pittsburgh area, and tens of millions more to fund construction expenses for PPG Arena where the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins play.

The casino's 1,300+ employees donate more than 2,000 hours a year to help community partners. They visit military vets in hospitals. They give out turkeys and hams to families facing food insecurity. They organize after-school programs. 

The environment also is a priority.

 "We go out on a boat. We clean the shoreline. We clean the trails," Hart explained.

Recently when someone stole $10,000 worth of equipment from a local youth football team in the Pittsburgh area, the casino was there.

"Rahmon Hart, our Director of Community Relations, came to me and said, 'Hey, this happened, what can we do?' I said, 'Write the check, get them the equipment," Rivers Casino Pittsburgh General Manager Bud Green told me. 

The gift was heartfelt for the Northside Youth Athletic Association.

"I'm ecstatic. It's been a rough few weeks. We stayed prayerful and God answers prayer," Audie Chapman, the group's executive director said.

Whether it's open gym programs, painting shelters, or beautifying park grounds, casino executives tell me the next steps in Portsmouth will be to build relationships with the community to understand the needs.

"What's critical is that we work shoulder-to-shoulder with those community organizations," Hart said. He added that once Rivers Casino Portsmouth gets into relationships with organizations in Hampton Roads and understands what the needs are, they'll figure out the best way to partner, adding a promise to follow through.

"They'll learn quickly that everything we said we're going to do, we're doing to do," Hart insisted.

From bartenders to blackjack dealers, from slot techs to servers, it takes a wide range of skills and personality types to make the wheels turn at a casino.

The challenge for Rush Street Gaming is to bring the same success it's enjoyed in Pittsburgh and elsewhere to Portsmouth, a place where employees want to come to work and move up.

"I started as a dealer when I was 18 years old. I know exactly what it's going to be like for them on opening night. The jitters that are going to come with that," said Roy Corby, who has been named general manager of Rivers Casino Portsmouth.

In an exclusive interview, Corby said 95% of the employees he expects to have in place by opening night will have never worked in a casino before. Corby said job fairs have been helpful to find the 1,300 workers the casino will need, everything from housekeepers to food servers, finance jobs to IT. 

"I'm amazed at how much interest we're getting from former military, former shipyard workers, even current shipyard workers," Corby added.

RELATED: Rivers Casino Portsmouth holds job fairs to recruit card dealers, chefs, servers and more

Corby said many of those looking to work for the casino are looking for something different. People like Russell Knox in Pittsburgh.

"I'm a fan of everything 412 [Pittsburgh's area code]," Knox said. "The Pirates. The Steelers. The Penguins."

Knox once owned a men's clothing store in Pittsburgh. He retired after 10 years as a roulette dealer and came back, for the people.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm a happy man. I have a good life. Rivers Casino gave me a better life."

Derek Peluso started as a college intern and took advantage of training that was offered by the casino. Today, he's the slots tech manager.

"I've been lucky to hold three management positions since I started here. I own a house. I have a wife and a 3-year-old son at home," Peluso said.

Leslie Brittain started her career as a banker. Today she's the poker room manager at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh.

"I can't imagine what I'd be doing had I not made that decision to take my first dealer class," Brittain said. 

In Portsmouth, eight-week-long dealer schools are drawing significant interest, a job that once you're licensed, can pay $50,000 a year.

"We're going to probably need to train somewhere upwards of 1,000 dealers to make it down to the 250-to-350 that we need," Corby said.

With the rush to opening night just months away, Corby said he's confident the casino will build a culture that emphasizes employee engagement, a diverse workforce focused on opportunities for employees who have a passion for people and a passion to learn and grow.

"If you don't have a skill set for it, we will work with you and train you for it. That's how you get employees to stay. You want to be the employer of choice," Corby added.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth offers a benefits package that includes a 401K, healthcare, and college tuition assistance.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth: Fast Facts

Information courtesy Rush Street Gaming

• Rivers Casino Portsmouth is a world-class destination — a $300-plus million local investment — planned for the new Entertainment District along Victory Boulevard.
• The complex will feature a casino, BetRivers Sportsbook, a hotel, event and conference venues, premier restaurants and amenities, including  Admiral’s Steak & Seafood, Starbucks, Topgolf Swing Suite, Mian, Slice Pizzeria, Crossings Café and more.  
• Rivers Casino Portsmouth will bring more than 1,300 new permanent local jobs and approximately 1,400 construction jobs.
• The estimated annual payroll will be $62 million with a commitment to build a diverse workforce and hire locally. 
• Rivers Casino Portsmouth will generate an estimated $16.3 million in new annual tax revenue for the City of Portsmouth. 
• Rivers Casino will be developed and operated by Rush Street Gaming, one of the fastest-growing casino and entertainment companies in the country.  
• Rush Street Gaming currently operates market-leading casinos in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Des Plaines (Chicago area) and Upstate New York. 
• Rush Street Gaming has a long and proud record of diversity and inclusion throughout all its business operations nationwide.  
• Rivers Casino Portsmouth will utilize local minority, women and veteran-owned small businesses in every phase of its construction and operation. 
• S.B. Ballard Construction Company (based in Virginia Beach) along with joint-venture partner Yates Construction are general contractors for the development.
• Kimley-Horn is the engineering consultant; Klai Juba Wald is the architect of record; Jeffrey Beers International is the primary interior designer; and DMAC Architecture is the designer of interior venues.
• Rivers Casino Portsmouth is committed to being a good community partner through the Rivers Gives program.  Collaborating with community leaders, non-profit organizations, and local businesses, Rivers Casino Portsmouth aims to support and enhance the quality of life for all residents—making Portsmouth a better place to live, work, and play. 
• Rivers Casino Portsmouth will open in early 2023.