Hiring efforts to staff the Bristol Casino are ongoing, but some workers who want to relocate here are struggling to find housing, Hard Rock Bristol President Allie Evangelista said Wednesday.
The Bristol Casino, future home of Hard Rock, is on track to hire between 600 and 700 employees before its planned July 8 opening in part of the former Bristol Mall. The full Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol, which is scheduled to open in mid-2024, is expected to employ between 1,200 and 1,500.
Many will be from this region while others want to transfer here from other Hard Rock properties, Evangelista said. Her comments came while participating in a panel discussion at the Southwest Virginia Economic Forum at the University of Virginia at Wise.
“We’re feeling the housing [crunch] right now. Eleven executives moved with me to the area. We are all looking for houses, or we’ve purchased, or we’re waiting, or we are renting,” Evangelista said. “The truth is there is a housing shortage for every level.”
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It is especially acute for current Hard Rock employees trying to transfer here.
“Virginia was one of the most desired places for people that work for Hard Rock all over the country to move to. We had a huge amount of people interviewing, transferring to our property. We have a lot of people moving their families here for that reason, but they are struggling with housing,” she said. “Knowing we are going to grow and hire more team members…The area where the casino is, is now being described as a casino district so if you own property there it is already worth more money. But we just need more housing so people can join us.”
Evangelista said the temporary casino being constructed at the rear of the mall property will be “nice” and will be managed by her Hard Rock team, but they won’t apply the corporate branding until the full facility is ready to open in 2024.
“A Hard Rock property smells like Hard Rock, tastes like Hard Rock and it looks like Hard Rock. The temporary facility will be a very nice facility, but it will not be a full Hard Rock property,” she said. “So we’re going to operate that during the time the permanent facility is being built and that’s why we’re not calling it Hard Rock. When we open the permanent facility on the other side of the mall we will have all of the things you expect when you visit a Hard Rock property.”
The temporary casino will feature 21 table games, 850 slot machines, a non-smoking gaming area, a high limit gaming area, full service sports book – and Hard Rock digital sports betting is now online – sports bar with live entertainment, full service restaurant dubbed “Mr. Lucky” and a grab-and-go quick service food outlet. There will also be a Rock Shop offering Hard Rock-branded items.
The full Hard Rock experience is slated to include 1,500 slot machines, 55 table games, live poker room, a 300-room luxury Hard Rock hotel, Hard Rock Café, Council Oak Steak and Seafood restaurant, plus other restaurants and bars, Hard Rock Live with seating for 2,300 and meeting space.
The temporary casino will offer guests access to Hard Rock’s new “Unity” customer loyalty program for all aspects – gaming, dining and entertainment – which applies to all its properties worldwide, Evangelista said.
Marketing for the temporary Bristol Casino will primarily be confined to a 90-mile radius of the Twin City, Evangelista said, primarily because the on-property hotel isn’t built. The full facility will cast a much wider net. She also noted this was the first casino she’s worked at where the closest competition was 2.5 hours away.