Rush Street Gaming announces Portsmouth casino general manager

Roy Corby was SVP of operations for Global Gaming Solutions LLC

Published November 9, 2021 by Katherine Schulte

Chicago-based developer and gaming operator Rush Street Gaming announced Monday that it has named Roy Corby as the general manager for the upcoming $300 million Rivers Casino Portsmouth.

“We’re excited to expand our Rivers Casino family of market-leading destination casinos and to help launch Virginia’s new casino industry,” Rush Street Gaming CEO Greg Carlin said in a statement. “Roy’s multifaceted operations background, employee engagement success and strategic marketing skills are perfectly suited for Rivers Casino Portsmouth.”

Corby was previously the senior vice president of operations for Ada, Oklahoma-based Global Gaming Solutions LLC, where he oversaw three full-service casinos. Before that, Corby was a property leader for Agua Caliente Resort Casino Palm Springs in California; Sandia Resort & Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. He began his casino career as a table games dealer and slot attendant in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“I’m thrilled to bring Rush Street’s proven model of state-of-the-art gaming, superior guest experience, team member development and community partnership to Portsmouth and Hampton Roads,” Corby said in a statement. “I’ve seen firsthand the positive economic impact regional casinos have on their host cities, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Five economically challenged Virginia cities voted on a casino referendum after the Virginia General Assembly allowed Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond to have one commercial casino per locality if approved by local voters. Four out of five cities — all but Richmond — passed referendums with large margins, and their casinos are expected to be finished in late 2022 and 2023. Last week, Richmond voted down casino plans there.

Rivers Casino Portsmouth is projected to produce 1,300 permanent jobs and 1,400 construction jobs and to generate $16.3 million in annual tax revenues. Preliminary site work is underway, and the casino is expected to open in 2023. The Portsmouth project referendum in November 2020 passed with 66.7% of the vote.

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