The following appeared at potomaclocal.com February 15 and was written by Uriah Kiser
Rosie’s is thinking bigger. Much bigger.
Rosies Gaming Emporium, a 19,000-square-foot gaming center opened on January 8 with 95 video slots in the Triangle Shopping Center in Dumfries, proposes building a massive $389 million casino resort on the grounds of Potomac Landfill, a debris junkyard on the edge of town.
“The Rose” would be a first for Virginia and include 50,000 square feet of gaming space, a 250-seat sports bar, seven other bars and restaurants, 200 hotel rooms, a 1,500-seat theater, and 7,000 square feet of meeting space.
A rendering of the proposed Resort Casino in Dumfries.
Colonial Downs, the owner of Rosies, which operates a racetrack in New Kent County near Richmond, and four other Rosie’s emporiums across the state, is expected to pitch the idea at the Dumfries Town Council at its 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday, February 16.
According to documents in the town council meeting agenda, the casino would create 640 jobs that pay a $15 an hour wage. A total of 96 managers hired to work at The Rose would make an average of $70,000 a year, documents state.
Colonial Downs says the new casino would generate $11.3 million a year in new tax revenue for Prince William County and nearly $80,000 a year for Dumfries.
If all goes to plan, Colonial Downs proposes breaking ground on the new facility in August. That’ll mean closing the Potomac Landfill 11 years earlier than planned.
The casino would sit on 22 acres of the landfill property. The remaining 79 acres would be converted into a park with sports fields, trails, and open space.
According to town documents, the park would open in December 2022, and the casino would open a month later.
The Colonial Downs Group opened their 5th Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in Dumfries, Virginia on January 8th.
In 2016, the town struck an agreement with the landfill to close the facility, which is full of debris hauled in from construction sites, in 2032. At the time, town officials expressed interest in turning the landfill into a public park.
In 2011, the landfill became notorious for the smell of sulfur, which permeated the surrounding area. Neighbors living nearby, and drivers on Interstate 95 traveling past the dump, complained.
Rosies Gaming Emporium is the first gaming joint to open in Northern Virginia. Since it turned on its games, more than 21,000 people have visited the gaming parlor in the shopping center, located next to a McDonald’s and a public library.
According to Rosies, it has donated more than $75,000 to charity since opening and has created 100 jobs.
Rosies proposes converting the current gaming parlor in the shopping center into an employment center.
In November 2019, a total of 468 of the town’s nearly 6,000 residents voted in a referendum to approve gambling in Dumfries. The referendum passed with more than 60% of the vote, following an extensive advertising campaign by Colonial Downs.