Norfolk Casino Project Tags Boyd Gaming for Waterfront Development

The long-stalled Norfolk casino project from a small federally recognized tribe that has no gaming development experience wants to bring in a big-time player in the US gaming industry to help push its resort dreams across the finish line.

The Pamunkey Indian Tribe and billionaire gaming industry veteran Jon Yarbrough were picked by Norfolk government officials ahead of a local ballot referendum in November 2020 to develop a commercial casino resort in the Hampton Roads city. City voters signed off on the casino plan, but numerous delays and a slew of hurdles have resulted in the project still not breaking ground.

The that Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming is entering the picture. Per planning documents submitted to the Norfolk City Council and Architectural Review Board, Boyd is set to become a majority investor in the Norfolk casino undertaking.

Originally to be called , the project has suffered .

Questions about whether a temporary casino could operate at a than the permanent resort resulted in one outline being scrapped. The federal and state governments more recent announcement to embark on a $2.6 billion infrastructure project in Hampton Roads that includes constructing a 17-foot-high floodwall along the Elizabeth River forced the casino developers to go back to the drawing board and scrap a planned marina.

With fewer than 500 members on its 1,200-acre reservation in King William County, the small Pamunkey tribe is incapable of garnering loans for a $500 million scheme. As a result, gaming industry veteran Yarbrough had agreed to help secure financing and to provide expert insight into designing and managing the resort.

Almost four years later, it appears Yarbrough is ready to step aside. He s reportedly agreed to sell his Golden Eagle Consulting, LLC, the tribe s partnered entity that presented voters with the original bid, to Boyd Gaming and the Pamunkeys.

reveal that Boyd is to assume an 80% ownership stake in Golden Eagle. The tribe would retain the remaining 20%.

No financial terms were disclosed, though that could change because Boyd Gaming is a publicly traded company. Boyd operates 29 properties across the nation in 19 markets. 

With Boyd seemingly entering the development team, the newest timeline for the resort suggests opening a transitional casino by early November 2025. The provisional gaming space would operate on the same 13.5-acre site where the permanent resort would stand.

Construction on the permanent casino and resort hotel would begin on Jan. 13, 2025, and would be expected to be ready for guests in September 2027. The latest blueprint includes 200 hotel rooms 100 fewer than previous scopes.

The casino remains unchanged at 65,000 square feet with 1,000 slot machines, 25 live dealer table games, and a 180-seat sportsbook. The overall budget has been slashed from $500 million to $300 million.

The Norfolk City Council is expected to vote on September 10 on whether to allow the development team to amend its partners to include Boyd. The next progression would be presenting the project to the city s Architectural Review Board for approval.