Development Team

Live! Casino Resort is being codeveloped by Bruce Smith Enterprise and The Cordish Companies, a first-of-its-kind development partnership in the gaming and entertainment industry. 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. 

Bruce Smith Enterprise, led by legendary Pro Football Hall of Fame member and Virginia native Bruce Smith, is a commercial real estate firm that specializes in the development of premier mixed-use projects. Headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA, the company has developed notable properties throughout the state and the Mid-Atlantic region that feature the cohesive and seamless integration of residential, hotel, Class A office, and retail space. Since retiring from professional football in 2004 after a prolific 19-year career, the NFL’s All-Time Sack Leader has endeavored to bring the same level of unparalleled excellence, diligence, and leadership that he honed as a veteran on the field to the management of Bruce Smith Enterprise. The successful development of timeless mixed-use properties that survive and withstand trends of the marketplace, strengthen, and invigorate the local economy and create jobs are core values of Bruce Smith Enterprise’s primary mission. 

The Cordish Companies is one of the largest, most respected developer-operators of upscale mixed-use, entertainment and casino resort destinations in the United States. For over a century, The Cordish Companies has built a portfolio of world-class destinations and projects that span across several platforms including casino resorts, restaurants, hotels, sports-anchored entertainment districts, mixed-use developments, concert venues, luxury residential communities, coworking spaces, and more. The Company’s Live! brand has dramatically changed the hospitality and entertainment experience nationwide, surpassing 55 million visitors last year to its destinations, many of which have played a major role in the rebirth of the cities in which they are located. This transformational effect has earned the Company an unprecedented seven Urban Land Institute Awards for Excellence in recognition of its urban revitalization accomplishments, more than any other developer in the world. In gaming, The Cordish Companies has developed the most successful casino entertainment resorts in the U.S. including the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, FL; the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, FL; Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland; Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia and Live! Casino Pittsburgh. The Company is currently under construction on Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana – the first land-based casino in the Shreveport-Bossier market – scheduled to open in 2025.