Petersburg Temp Casino Drags Down Virginia HHR Revenue in July
Virginia's historical horse racing machines posted a nominal 1.2 percent gain in July, but same-store revenue fell 11.7 percent as Cordish Gaming's temporary Petersburg casino pulled customers away from nearby Churchill Downs properties.
Headline numbers hide a rougher story
On paper, Virginia’s historical horse racing machines had a decent July. Revenue was up 1.2 percent statewide, which sounds fine until you strip out the two newest properties and look at how established locations actually performed. On a same-store basis, as reported by CDC Gaming, grosses fell 11.7 percent. That gap tells the real story of July.
The two properties masking the decline are both owned by Churchill Downs, which operates all HHR venues in the state. The Rose, a casino in Dumfries, and the Roseshire slot parlor in Henrico County are newer additions to the fleet, and their growth padded the statewide total in ways that obscure what was happening elsewhere.
Cordish’s temporary casino is doing real damage
Cordish Gaming opened a temporary casino in Petersburg, and its footprint is being felt across three Churchill Downs markets in the Richmond area. The Richmond-area slot parlors collectively sank 25.6 percent in July, finishing with a gross of $10.3 million. Those machines averaged just $277 per device per day, the lowest per-machine daily figure anywhere in Virginia.
The pain did not stop in Richmond. Colonial Downs saw HHR revenue drop 24.5 percent to $3.8 million, with a per-machine average of $323. Emporia slid 15.9 percent to $1.8 million, averaging $385 per machine daily. Three properties, three double-digit declines, one common cause.
This is not the first month Petersburg has disrupted the numbers. CDC Gaming noted a related article from July 13 covering the temporary casino’s impact on June revenue, and a March piece about new casino competition battering Virginia HHR results. The pattern is consistent.
Where things are working
Not every Churchill Downs property is struggling. The Rose in Dumfries posted a 22.3 percent revenue jump to $15.2 million, and its machines averaged $306 per day. That performance helped prop up the statewide headline figure considerably.
Roseshire, the newer Henrico County parlor, grabbed the top per-machine average in Virginia at $501 per day, producing an overall gross of $2.7 million. For a newer property still building its customer base, that per-unit efficiency is notable.
Further from Petersburg’s gravitational pull, the Hampton Roads Rosie’s location climbed seven percent to $9.1 million, with a per-slot daily average of $420. Vinton was up 8.4 percent to $5.1 million, averaging $352 daily. The biggest percentage gain belonged to Collinsville, which jumped 21.1 percent to $400,000 with devices averaging $361 per day.
What this split tells us
The divergence between locations benefiting from Churchill Downs’ expansion and those being squeezed by Petersburg’s new competition creates a genuinely complicated picture for the Virginia HHR business. Properties inside the temporary casino’s draw radius are absorbing real losses. Properties outside it are growing, in some cases strongly.
The Petersburg facility is still temporary. When and if a permanent structure opens, operators and regulators will want to watch whether these same-store declines stabilize or deepen. Churchill Downs experienced double-digit gains at two properties and double-digit declines at three others in July, according to CDC Gaming. That five-property split is a useful snapshot of where Virginia’s HHR market stands heading into the fall.
What happened to Virginia HHR revenue in July 2026?
According to CDC Gaming, Virginia's historical horse racing revenue appeared up 1.2 percent at first glance, but on a same-store basis it actually fell 11.7 percent. The gap was driven by two newer Churchill Downs properties, The Rose in Dumfries and Roseshire in Henrico County, which inflated the headline number.
Which Churchill Downs properties were most affected by the Petersburg casino?
As reported by CDC Gaming, the Richmond-area slot parlors were hit hardest, declining 25.6 percent to $10.3 million. Colonial Downs fell 24.5 percent to $3.8 million, and the Emporia location slid 15.9 percent to $1.8 million.
Were any Virginia HHR locations performing well in July?
Yes. The Rose in Dumfries posted a 22.3 percent revenue increase to $15.2 million, and Roseshire recorded the highest per-machine daily average in the state at $501. Hampton Roads and Vinton also saw gains of seven and 8.4 percent respectively.