- A Norfolk casino hall opened on Friday and donated all proceeds to a local food bank.
- Just $1 given to the foodbank translates to two meals, allowing more than 100,000 locals to eat on the casino hall’s dime.
- The temporary casino hall will become a full-fledged casino and resort opening in 2027.
NORFOLK, Va. – The first casino hall in Norfolk, Virginia opened on Friday, and it came in support of the local community. All of Friday’s casino revenue was donated to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and Eastern Shore.
While the local VA casino didn’t publish a total donation amount, every dollar given to the casino on Friday translated into two meals for the foodbank. Meaning if the casino reeled in $25,000, the foodbank would be able to hand out 50,000 warm meals to the southeastern and eastern shore Virginia area.
Norfolk Casino Hall Opening Aids Local Community With Meals
"The shutdown has added a whole wealth of people that are in need and need services and also created kind of a manmade disaster that people are kind of preparing for," said Christopher Tan, the CEO and president of Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and Eastern Shore. "We're seeing our neighbors go to multiple distributions instead of just one for the first time in a long time."
Tan also told reporters that the government shutdown has surged foodbank demand by 30%. With the casino hall donating all proceeds from Friday’s operations to the foodbank, over 100,000 Norfolk residents would be fed.
If their opening gesture is any indication of what’s to come, the future casino and resort will be one of the best legal casinos in the area. It expects to open sometime in 2027 under a name yet to be determined.