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Bruce Smith Enterprise and The Cordish Companies Unanimously Selected by City of Petersburg to Codevelop $1.4 Billion Transformative Mixed-use Development in Petersburg, Virginia
Bruce Smith Enterprise and The Cordish Companies have been selected by the City of Petersburg, Virginia to codevelop a $1.4 billion Live! Gaming & Entertainment District, anchored by Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia. The Petersburg City Council unanimously approved Bruce Smith Enterprise and The Cordish Companies as the City’s preferred development partner on the transformative mixed-use project. The proposed project will generate billions of dollars in economic benefits and spinoff development, create thousands of new jobs and benefits to the local community, and become a major new tourist destination for the City and the Central Virginia region.
Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham said: “The City of Petersburg is thrilled to have selected Bruce Smith Enterprise and The Cordish Companies as development partners after a thorough RFP process and extensive review by outside consultants. An important part of our evaluation was to identify a development team with a proven track record in developing and operating mixed-use and casino properties, a long history of revitalizing cities across the country, and strong community engagement practices. Bruce Smith and Cordish’s experience, comprehensive project master plan and visionary approach, ideal site location, robust financial strength, and commitment to swift market entry make them the clear and unanimous choice of both our consultants and City Council. The City has worked very hard to get to this point, and we believe that it is imperative to continue moving this project forward as expeditiously as possible so that we can meet the deadline to get this in front of our citizens for a referendum vote this November.”
The project site is ideally situated at the intersection of Wagner Road and Interstate I-95 with easy access on and off the East Coast’s major north-south interstate. Live! Gaming & Entertainment District – anchored by Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia – will be a catalyst for change and significant urban development, transforming the City through the creation of a thriving entertainment and hospitality destination. Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia will set a new standard for gaming, hotels, and entertainment in the Commonwealth, and serve as a new world-class attraction for Petersburg and the greater Central Virginia region. The partners intend to quickly open an initial first phase casino within a year of voter approval to begin creating jobs, vendor opportunities, and economic benefits immediately for the City of Petersburg and its residents.
Bruce Smith Enterprise and The Cordish Companies have a longstanding relationship. The joint venture partnership is the first-of-its-kind in the gaming and entertainment industry to have a minority-owned business enterprise as co-development partner. The Petersburg ownership team, which makes up 50% minority equity participation, will become the largest minority ownership opportunity in the gaming and hospitality industry in the country, and will become a model for other projects in Virginia and throughout the nation. The team includes substantial investment from prominent minority businesses and individuals with a long history of residing, working, and investing in the Commonwealth including former Cox Communications GM and philanthropist Gary McCollum and former Philadelphia Eagle and University of Virginia All-American receiver Billy McMullen.
“Bruce Smith Enterprise and The Cordish Companies are thrilled and extremely honored to be selected by the City of Petersburg to codevelop a $1.4 billion, transformational mixed-use development,” said Bruce Smith, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Prominent Virginian Developer and Community Leader.
“A venture of such magnitude offers a historic opportunity to revivify this jewel of a city, and we are galvanized and ready to deliver a project that uplifts and radically restores the life-blood of Petersburg and its citizens. We look forward to collaborating with the City and Commonwealth to build a world-class Live! gaming and entertaining destination that will create thousands of high-paying jobs and generate billions in economic benefits that profit the citizens of Petersburg. In the end, this development will offer more than a premier resort casino; it will represent a hopeful new beginning,” Bruce Smith added.
“We extend our thanks to the entire Petersburg City Council for its thoughtful decision to select Bruce Smith Enterprise and The Cordish Companies as development partners for this transformative, world-class destination in Petersburg. The Cordish Companies’ track record for designing, financing, building, and operating large-scale mixed-use developments and casino resort destinations in the country is unmatched, and together with Bruce as our development partner, no one comes close to our combined history of success and capabilities to deliver on a destination of this scale and complexity. Together, we share core values in investing for the long-term and creating jobs and lifechanging opportunities for the community, and we are excited to continue moving forward on executing on those commitments. We are look forward to working with the City and Commonwealth to deliver a game-changing destination that will benefit Petersburg for generations to come,” Zed Smith, Chief Operating Officer of The Cordish Companies, said.
Inspired Entertainment, Inc., a leading provider of B2B gaming content, systems, and solutions, has expanded its presence in Brazil through a newly launched partnership with EstrelaBet, a leading Brazilian gaming tech company. The collaboration brings Inspired’s acclaimed portfolio of iGaming titles to EstrelaBet’s growing player base, further demonstrating the Company’s commitment to the region’s gaming industry.
Through integration facilitated by Softswiss, EstrelaBet players in Brazil will now have access to a wide selection of Inspired’s top-performing online and mobile slot titles, including localized versions of global hits such as Big Fishing Fortune™ (Super Pescaria da Fortuna), Golden Winner™ (Campeão de Ouro), Cops ‘n’ Robbers Bigger Big Money™ (Polícia e Ladrão Bolada), Centurion Big Money™ (Centurion Muita Grana), among others. The rollout will also include regular new content releases, offering a balance of fan-favourite classics, innovative mechanics, and seasonal experiences designed to maximize player engagement and retention.
Claire Osborne, Vice President of Interactive at Inspired Entertainment, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with EstrelaBet to bring our diverse portfolio of fun games to Brazilian players. From proven hits to innovative seasonal content, our titles are designed to entertain, captivate, and perform. This partnership marks another important step in expanding Inspired’s reach in one of the world’s most exciting and fast-growing iGaming markets.”
Fellipe Fraga, Chief Business Officer at EstrelaBet, added: “This collaboration positions EstrelaBet at the forefront of the Brazilian iGaming sector by offering our players access to some of the most recognized and entertaining slots content available. Inspired’s reputation for quality and variety makes them an ideal partner, and we look forward to delivering their games to our growing audiences across Brazil.”
With localized branding, strong thematic appeal, and a track record of high performance across regulated markets, Inspired’s iGaming content is well positioned to captivate Brazil’s rapidly expanding online player base while delivering added value to operators.
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Dania Beach Casino Excited to Leverage QCI Nimble Edition with AGI56 to Elevate Player Engagement
Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI), a leading provider of data-driven casino intelligence and player engagement platforms, announced that Dania Beach Casino is continuing to benefit from its deployment of the QCI Nimble platform. While the property currently focuses on the QCI Host and QCI Marketing modules, it has expressed enthusiasm about the capabilities of the new AGI56 release and its impact on future customer engagement strategies.
Josh Crowder, Director of Marketing at Dania Beach Casino, said: “QCI is the tool that we use to connect to our players, enabled with deep data that has guided us in critical business initiatives. AGI56 shows QCI’s commitment to their core product. They have completely refreshed the technology stack, added deeper tooling for precise marketing initiatives, and Chatalytics.com in AGI56 provides tooling that enables us to build AI-managed data interactions.”
AGI56 represents the most ambitious release in QCI’s history, with the platform undergoing a full refresh of its technology stack, improved integration of advanced analytics, and the introduction of generative AI-driven tooling through Chatalytics.com. This evolution ensures that casinos can not only continue to run data-driven marketing campaigns and player development initiatives but also begin to take advantage of next-generation artificial intelligence to manage complex customer data interactions.
Andrew Cardno, Chief Technology Officer of QCI, said: “We have invested eight figures of R&D into AGI56, transforming it into a platform that not only supports today’s casino marketing and host teams but can also grow across the entire spectrum of customer engagement. Our commitment has been to deliver a technology stack that empowers operators like Dania Beach to achieve precise, data-driven outcomes while building a scalable foundation for the future of AI-enabled player interaction.”
QCI Nimble, the solution deployed by Dania Beach Casino, is designed specifically for properties with under 1000 slot machines. It provides the full capabilities of QCI’s enterprise platform in a form factor that is right-sized for smaller operations. With the release of AGI56, Nimble customers gain access to many of the same advanced tools as larger properties, including refined marketing segmentation, deeper player development capabilities, and AI-powered analytics that bring enterprise-grade insight to local and regional markets.
QCI’s platform is currently deployed in more than 350 casinos worldwide, supporting properties that collectively manage over 42 billion dollars in annual gross gaming revenue. The company’s ongoing investment in product development ensures that every property, regardless of size, can benefit from the same commitment to innovation, operational efficiency, and enhanced guest engagement.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board has reported that Detroit’s three casinos—MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown—collectively generated $106.9 million in revenue for August 2025.
Table games and slot machines accounted for $105.7 million of the monthly total, while retail sports betting contributed $1.2 million.
August 2025 Market Share
• MGM Grand Detroit: 48%
• MotorCity Casino: 30%
• Hollywood Casino at Greektown: 22%
Table Games and Slot Machine Revenue
Revenue from table games and slots decreased by 4.6% compared with August 2024 and 0.3% from July 2025. From January 1 through August 31, combined table games and slots revenue was down 1.2% year-over-year.
Casino-specific revenues compared to August 2024 were:
• MGM Grand Detroit: $51.7 million, down 4.0%
• MotorCity Casino: $31.2 million, up 1.4%
• Hollywood Casino at Greektown: $22.8 million, down 13.0%
The three casinos paid $8.6 million in state gaming taxes in August 2025, down from $9.0 million in August 2024. They also submitted $12.6 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to the City of Detroit.
Retail Sports Betting Revenue
In August 2025, the casinos reported a combined retail sports betting handle of $6.8 million, generating $1.2 million in gross receipts. Qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) from retail sports betting decreased by 26.7% from August 2024 but increased 20.2% from July 2025.
QAGR by casino:
• MGM Grand Detroit: $264,076
• MotorCity Casino: $548,749
• Hollywood Casino at Greektown: $427,999
The casinos paid $46,903 in state taxes from retail sports betting revenue and submitted $57,326 in wagering taxes to the City of Detroit.
Fantasy Contests
Fantasy contest operators reported $513,880 in adjusted revenues for July 2025 and paid $43,166 in taxes.
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