“We are excited by the Virginia Lottery Board’s action today granting a license to open Virginia’s first casino in Bristol subject to the completion of outstanding operational activities,” said Jon Lucas, chief operating officer of Hard Rock International.
“We appreciate the Virginia Lottery’s assistance and diligence in working closely with our team over many months to reach today’s important milestone for Bristol, Southwest Virginia and the Commonwealth,” Lucas added.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol will be the first of the brand in Virginia. To lead the project, the Group named Brazilian Allie Evangelista as its President. She most recently served as VP & General Manager at Penn National’s of Hollywood Casino Perryville.
Hard Rock Bristol will start business with a temporary casino that will include a 30,000 square feet gaming floor with 870 slots, 22 table games, two restaurants, two bars, along with a sportsbook, and a retail site. The permeant property will feature 1,500 slots, 55 table games, and a 300-room hotel.
“Since enacted by the 2020 General Assembly, the Board’s priority for casino gaming in the Commonwealth is that it be conducted with integrity and in a responsible manner,” said Board Chairman Ferhan Hamid. “Today’s approval reflects the confidence we have in the rigorous and conscientious review conducted by Virginia Lottery staff.”
The Lottery’s Gaming Compliance Department will continue to work closely with Hard Rock Bristol as it prepares to open a temporary facility on the site of the former Bristol Mall in early July.
The development will include seven restaurants and four bars, a 3,200 seat Hard Rock Live venue, a 20,000 people outdoor entertainment venue, a country western nightlife experience, and a Hard Rock Cafe with a stage for local and musicians and beyond. The resort will also feature a Rock Shop and retail store, Rock Spa and Body Rock fitness center, a convention and meeting space, and a country music memorabilia experience. Hard Rock also announced that the Bristol property will include a racing experience, sport experience and interactive sports and e-sports simulator.
A Brazilian to lead the project
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol will be the first of the brand in Virginia. To lead it, the Group named Brazilian Allie Evangelista as its President last February. A ‘gaucha', she left Caxias do Sul (RS) very young and started an upward career in the US gaming industry.
In 2006 when she joined Pinnacle Entertainment as an assistant slot manager. She has since held several positions in casino and HR operations. Most recently she was VP & General Manager at Penn National’s of Hollywood Casino, Perryville. Evangelista came to the United States to work as an intern at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., while earning a degree in tourism and got two masters degrees.
During her years in hospitality, she made many friends and received an invitation to work in a casino in Missouri from a former manager she worked for in Orlando. After accepting the offer, Allie moved to Saint Louis MO in 2006 where she stayed for nine years and learned all about the gaming industry, first in slots and later in table games. Later on, Evangelista moved to Council Bluffs in Iowa as a Director of Casino Operations and Human Resources. After two years, she was transferred to Washington PA and then to Ohio.
As Vice President and General Manager of Hollywood Mahoning Valley in Austintown OH and working for Penn National Gaming, one of the largest regional gaming companies in North America, she was responsible for establishing and maintaining communication of property vision, values, goals and culture. And also had to maintain a culture of regulatory compliance according to gaming regulations in each jurisdiction, in this case the Ohio Lottery Commission.
Source: GMB
