PORTSMOUTH, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 25, 2025--
Rush Street Gaming and Rivers Casino Portsmouth today announced S.B. Ballard Construction Company as the general contractor of The Landing Hotel —a $65 million privately funded development and upcoming addition to the casino’s world-class entertainment and hospitality offerings.
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Construction is expected to start on Victory Boulevard this summer, and the hotel is expected to open in early 2027.
S.B. Ballard Construction successfully completed the construction of the 270,000 square feet gaming and entertainment complex, Rivers Casino Portsmouth, which opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023.
“We are proud to continue our investment in Portsmouth and to be working again with a local company to expand our offerings for the Hampton Roads community and the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Tim Drehkoff, CEO of Rush Street Gaming and Rivers Casino Portsmouth.
The Landing Hotel Portsmouth will utilize local minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses in every phase of its construction and operation. S.B. Ballard will cultivate and select prospective subcontractors and suppliers with an emphasis on SWaM and DBE vendors.
The Landing Hotel project will bring roughly 200 new temporary construction jobs to the region and 60 new permanent positions to Rivers Casino Portsmouth.
In addition to the new hospitality tax for the City of Portsmouth, the hotel is expected to drive additional local commerce and gaming, restaurant, conference, and event revenues by supporting weekend and overnight visits to the area.
The Landing Hotel Portsmouth will be an upscale eight-story destination directly adjacent to Rivers Casino Portsmouth—overlooking the property’s water feature. The hotel will have 106 well-appointed and generously sized guest rooms, including 32 expansive suites, among them two ‘super suites’ providing both indoor and outdoor space. A sophisticated Lobby Bar is planned near the reception area on the first floor, where two private executive board rooms and other amenities will also be available.
“This project represents more than just a new hotel—it’s a continued investment in Portsmouth’s future,” states S.B. Ballard CEO and owner Stephen Ballard. “We’re honored to collaborate with Rush Street Gaming and Rivers Casino on The Landing Hotel, bringing together our shared commitment to quality, community, and long-term growth. From design through delivery, we’re proud to be building a landmark that reflects the strength of this partnership and the promise of this city. This is another step forward in the economic development of Portsmouth and the region.”
The Landing Hotel Portsmouth will be independently owned and operated by Rivers Casino and Rush Street Gaming, which also owns and operates The Landing Hotel in Pittsburgh and Schenectady and Riversuites in Philadelphia.
EDITOR’S NOTE: High-resolution renderings of The Landing Hotel Portsmouth, courtesy of KOO Architecture & Interiors of Chicago and Rush Street Gaming are available here: TLH Renderings.
About Rush Street Gaming
Rush Street Gaming and its affiliates have developed and currently operate successful casinos in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Des Plaines, Illinois; Portsmouth, Virginia; and Schenectady, New York. All Rush Street Gaming casinos have been voted a “Best Place to Work” or “Top Workplace” by their team members. Rush Street Gaming affiliates also developed and previously operated the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Canada. For more information, please visit RushStreetGaming.com.
About Rivers Casino Portsmouth
Rivers Casino Portsmouth is a world-class destination located along Victory Boulevard, south of I-264. As part of Portsmouth’s New Entertainment District, the complex currently features a full-service casino, poker room, BetRivers Sportsbook, event and conference venues, premier restaurants, and more. Rivers Casino Portsmouth is Virginia’s first permanent casino and the latest addition to Rush Street Gaming, one of the fastest-growing casino and entertainment companies in the country. For more information about Rivers Casino Portsmouth, including ongoing career opportunities, please visit RiversCasino.com.
About S.B. Ballard Construction Company
S.B. Ballard Construction Company (SBBCC) is a family-owned firm founded in 1978 and located in Virginia Beach. When you work with SBBCC, you gain an experienced local team with well-established relationships with the entire Hampton Roads Region. SBBCC is proud of its partnerships within Hampton Roads and its seamless ability to maneuver through processes within every city. They have constructed over $1 billion and nearly 10 million SF of experience in the Hampton Roads area. They have helped shape the region's vision of providing a fun, vibrant, entertainment, and cultural community, with ample resources for its residents and guests. The projects SBBCC has constructed throughout the city have positively and profoundly impacted the residents' and guests' experience. To learn more about SBBCC, visit www.sbballard.com.
Coming Soon: The Landing Hotel Portsmouth. Construction is expected to start on Victory Boulevard this summer, and the hotel is expected to open in early 2027.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States said Sunday it rescued a service member missing behind enemy lines since Iran downed a fighter jet, as President Donald Trump escalated pressure on Tehran with a new looming deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran showed no signs of backing down, striking economic and infrastructure targets in neighboring Gulf Arab countries.
The airman’s extraction followed a U.S. search-and-rescue operation after the Friday crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle, as Iran also promised a reward for anyone who turned in an “enemy pilot.” Trump said he was injured but in stable condition.
“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” Trump wrote on social media.
A second crew member was rescued earlier.
The fighter jet was the first American aircraft to have crashed in Iranian territory since the U.S. and Israel launched the war, striking Iran on Feb. 28. The war has since killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.
Trump said last week that the U.S. had “decimated” Iran and would finish the war “very fast.” Two days later, Iran shot down two U.S. military planes, showing the ongoing perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of a degraded Iranian military to continue to hit back.
As Iran continues to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz, Trump, in a weekend social media post, threatened to unleash “all Hell” if it isn’t opened by Monday. He has issued such threats before and extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war on agreeable terms.
The other jet to go down was a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it crashed was immediately known.
On Sunday, Iran’s state TV aired a video showing what it claimed were parts of American aircraft shot down by Iranian forces, along with a photo of thick, black smoke rising into the air. The broadcaster said Iran had shot down an American transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation.
However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told The Associated Press that the U.S. military blew up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction, forcing it to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.
In Kuwait, an Iranian drone attack caused significant damage to two power plants and put a water desalination station out of service, according to the Ministry of Electricity. No injuries were reported from the attack, the ministry said.
In Bahrain, the national oil company said that a drone attack caused a fire at one of its storage facilities, which was extinguished. It said the damage was still being assessed and no injuries had been reported.
In the United Arab Emirates, authorities responded to multiple fires at the Borouge petrochemicals plant that they said were caused by intercepted debris. Production at the plant in Ruwais, near the UAE’s western border with Saudi Arabia, was halted.
The strike came a day after Israel struck a petrochemical plant in Iran that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said generated revenue that it had used to fund the war.
Trump renewed his threats for Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz by Monday or face devastating consequences, writing Saturday in a social media post: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”
The waterway is a critical chokepoint for global energy shipments, especially oil and gas moving from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia. Disruptions there have injected volatility into the market and pushed oil and gas-importing countries to seek alternative sources.
“The doors of hell will be opened to you” if Iran’s infrastructure is attacked, Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi with the country’s joint military command said late Saturday in response to Trump’s renewed threat, state media reported. In turn, the general threatened all infrastructure used by the U.S. military in the region.
But Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told the AP that his government’s efforts to broker a ceasefire are “right on track” after Islamabad last week said that it would soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt were working to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table, according to two regional officials.
The proposed compromise includes a cessation of hostilities to allow a diplomatic settlement, according to a regional official involved in the efforts and a Gulf diplomat briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued a veiled threat late Friday to disrupt traffic through a second strategic waterway in the region, the Bab el-Mandeb.
The strait, 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. More than a tenth of seaborne global oil and a quarter of container ships pass through it.
“Which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes through the strait?” Qalibaf wrote.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.
In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed. In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have died there.
This report has been corrected to show that Borealis is an Austrian company and not Australian.
Metz reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
Members of Lebanon's General Security stand at the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa valley, eastern Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A man, who fled Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon with his family, sleeps in his car used as shelter, along a seaside promenade in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Followers of Iraq's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chant slogans as they wave national Iraqi flag during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A bedroom is damaged in a building struck in an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Pedetrians walk by a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh, with the mosque visible in the background, which officials at the site say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday, in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Police officers and their horses take cover in an underground parking garage as sirens warn of an incoming missile fired from Yemen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)
A man looks at a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh complex that officials say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
