Goal
Position Live! Casino Virginia as a major new entertainment destination and economic driver for Petersburg, Virginia while driving awareness, visitation and revenue.
Live! Casino Virginia is a temporary gaming facility in Petersburg, operating on the same 100-acre site where the permanent Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia is currently under construction. The temporary casino represents a major milestone in bringing new jobs, tourism and economic development to the region and builds anticipation for the permanent resort destination opening in 2027.
In the months leading up to the grand opening, Live! Casino Virginia partnered with The Hodges Partnership to execute a strategic media relations campaign that would build buzz throughout Central Virginia, highlight the casino’s economic impact, support employee recruitment efforts and establish Live! as a committed community partner before its doors officially opened.
Results
- The campaign generated more than 80 earned media placements across Virginia.
- Grand opening coverage appeared in every major regional media outlet, including a front-page story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, introducing Live! Casino Virginia to audiences throughout Central Virginia.
- Increased awareness of employment opportunities at Live! Casino Virginia helped build a strong team in advance of opening day.
- The sustained media attention fueled a successful launch, with the casino generating $4.7 million in revenue during its first 10 days of operation and welcoming thousands of guests eager to experience the region’s first full-scale casino.
Why’d It Work?
Hodges developed a multi-phased public relations strategy to create a steady drumbeat of news and built momentum over several months.
The campaign began by introducing Live! Casino Virginia as a community investment. We invited media to the opening of the casino’s employee recruitment center, highlighting its commitment to creating local jobs, fostering an inclusive workforce and partnering with regional vendors. We further reinforced the casino’s role as a community partner by securing coverage of charitable initiatives, including a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway to benefit a local nonprofit.
As opening day approached, we continued creating opportunities for media engagement by inviting reporters behind the scenes as slot machines arrived at the facility, creating an exclusive moment that helped make the opening feel real and imminent.
In the final weeks before opening, we hosted a dedicated media preview, giving reporters an early look at the gaming floor, dining options and guest experience and opportunities for interviews and photography. We then leveraged our longstanding media relationships to invite outlets to the grand opening celebration itself, using highly personalized outreach and custom-branded decks of cards as media drops to encourage attendance and coverage.
By creating multiple touchpoints for storytelling, highlighting economic development and community impact, we positioned Live! Casino Virginia as a major entertainment destination and economic driver for Central Virginia from day one.