P2E's Colonial Downs breaks ground on Rose Gaming Resort, 1st Northern Virginia large casino

Rose Gaming Resort in Dumfries broke ground on Tuesday morning, marking a landmark for Northern Virginia’s first large casino. Elected leaders joined company officials for the groundbreaking ceremony, held at what is today the Potomac Landfill, situated next to I-95 and close to Rt. 1 and Rt. 234 in Dumfries, Prince William County.

Colonial Downs Group and its parent company Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E), which already run Rosie’s Gaming Emporium video gambling business in Dumfries, are investing more than $400 million for the project, which is expected to generate revenues that will “potentially triple” the Town of Dumfries annual budget. It will generate an estimated $59 million in annual tax revenues and have more than 600 team members once fully operational.

Once fully built, the Rose Gaming Resort will include a luxury hotel, more than 50,000 square feet of gaming space, eight bars and restaurants, a cultural venue, a space for meetings and events, and over 80 acres of green space with miles of bike and fitness trails, athletic fields and a playground, according to its developers. Colonial Downs will maintain the park for 10 years before turning it over to the town.

“It’s going to triple our budget,” Mayor Derrick Wood said of the tax revenue the casino will bring, according to abc 13 News. He further claimed the impact will go far beyond Dumfries, allowing people in Prince William County to both work and have fun closer to home. “It can take a large number of people off of 95 headed to DC, and keep people right here,” he added.

About 50 people joined the groundbreaking ceremony at the landfill, which is closing at the end of January, about 10 years ahead of schedule and which has been in operation since 1984. Work on the new gaming facility will begin with capping the landfill, a process expected to start within the next few months.

The venue is expected to open in two phases, the first set to be finished as early as late 2023. All amenities will be operational as part of the first phase, while the second one is set to make the casino and hotel even larger. Phase two is expected to be finished by 2026 according to Aaron Gomes, chief operating officer of P2E.

According to Colonial Downs Group, the project is also set to enhance community partnerships. The group has made direct monetary and in-kind donations of more than $1.4 million, and has logged over 2,500 service hours in Virginia communities.

“We couldn’t be more excited to take this next step towards bringing more well-paying jobs, increased tax revenues to this region and the commonwealth,” said Gomes during the groundbreaking ceremony, according to the Prince William Times. “We will do it by building a top-notch tourist destination right here.”

Rose Gaming Resort is among up to five casinos approved statewide in Virginia, and the only one in Northern Virginia. Casino and elected officials claim they went through a long process to make sure the casino would not create new bottlenecks in Dumfries, a small city with less than 5700 people.

The new casino will be run by the same company in charge of Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, a video gambling business in Dumfries opened by Colonial Downs a year ago and which is set to close when The Rose opens. However, company officials claim the new casino will have about ten times as many games, according to local media.

Excited to be on hand yesterday for the groundbreaking of The Rose in Dumfries - which will generate $100M/decade in taxes & anchor tourism in Eastern PWC and provide millions of community benefits - stay tuned! @DelegateTorian @DRWood77 @ChairWheeler https://t.co/UWFAGRmar6

— Senator Scott Surovell (@ssurovell) January 12, 2022

Rose Gaming Resort is set to only have electronic entertainment, while table games will not be part of its offering. By state code, gambling is limited to off-track betting and historic horse race betting machines. As the state has not approved sports betting at the site, the company plans to create a sports wagering app that will be able to be used statewide.

Speaking at the ceremony, P2E COO Gomes described already-operating Rosie’s as a “terrific success,” the reason why the company believes it can “do more” and create something that is “even bigger and better” for the town.

It is also set to allow Dumfries and Prince William County to keep a share of the tax revenue generated by Virginia residents who currently travel to Maryland to gamble. According to State Sen. Scott Surovell, D-36th, about $350 million go to the MGM National Harbor Casino in Maryland each year, reports the Prince William Times.