DANVILLE, Va. (WSET) — When you’re driving through Danville, Caesars Virginia is sure to catch your eye, and by the end of the year, it’s going to be bigger and better than ever.

All of our wonderful restaurants, our bars, our pool, our spa,” said Chris Albrecht, Caesars Virginia General Manager. “This a true destination resort experience here in Danville.

The permanent casino will have more than 1,400 slot machines, about 80 table games, seven restaurants, and much more.

Albrecht said that construction for the permanent casino is going well. They have about 1,000 workers on site every day. A lot of progress has been made on the outside with getting the walls up. They expect the parking garage to be finished in the next few weeks. They also plan to focus on the inside and getting walls up for the restaurants, the hotel, and the convention space.

“The casino floor itself, you can actually walk on the inside, and you know where all of the different components are now going to be because you can see it all come together and taking shape and it’s really exciting,” Albrecht said.

Temporary casino in Danville celebrates one-year-anniversary

The temporary casino has been sparking a lot of economic growth in the area since it opened last May and officials hope that trend continues when permanent casino is complete. In terms of revenue, Albrecht said he thinks the temporary casino has exceeded what the city has budgeted to receive from the casino.

That’s just indirect impact. There’s also the indirect impact of those customers and workers that are here utilizing local amenities,” Albrecht said. “They’re staying in those hotels, they’re staying and enjoying those restaurants here on top of that. So, it’s not just what we bring directly to the casino, but it’s that compounding effect, that multiplier effect.

When the casino is finished, Albrecht said that Caesars Virginia will give you an experience like no other.

“Hopefully we’re going to see people not just from what we’re seeing in the temporary facility, but they’ll come from much farther away taking cars, planes, trains, or whatever to come see just a truly special transformative operation here,” Albrecht said.

Danville City Council approves an updated $750 million agreement with Caesars Casino

When the grand opening day comes, Albrecht hopes the community and staff will feel a sense of pride.

“That they’ve been a part of something that’s truly transformed into something special for the city of Danville and I think we’re going to deliver on that,” Albrecht said.

Caesars Virginia is looking to hire about 700 to 800 employees for the permanent casino. They are already working on planning hiring events in the city and surrounding areas.

There isn’t an official opening date yet. But officials say the casino is still on track to be completed late this year.

Archaeologists have unearthed lost remnants of America’s first soldiers from the Revolutionary War.

They discovered bricks that were once part of Virginia’s first military barracks that housed 2,000 people from 1776 through 1777 in what is now Colonial Williamsburg.

At the time, America was in the middle of a war for its independence from the British that ended in 1781 – five years after the US declared its freedom.

The team also found personal items belonging to the patriot troops, including lead shots, buttons and a 225-year-old Virginia penny, and fireplaces and chimneys. 

This discovery will provide insight into Williamsburg’s military involvement during the Revolutionary War, which these artifacts will help tell. 

A French 18th-century map of Williamsburg shows more than a dozen barracks within Williamsburg, detailing how they were built between 1776 and 1777 for the Continental Army as it fought the British

Ashley McCuistion, a lead archaeologist, told The Washington Post: ‘These barracks were the first continental barracks in Virginia.

‘This all happens immediately after independence is declared and we start forming this American government.’ 

The barracks were also built on the land used by the British royal governor who had a palace constructed for himself. 

But American soldiers took over the palace and the land, turning it into their military outpost that held thousands of people and 100 horses.

The team first found piles of red bricks buried under the surface, laying in piles.

The barracks were destroyed by the forces of British general Charles Cornwallis in 1781.

Cornwallis is best known for his surrender at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, which effectively ended the war and led to peace negotiations between Great Britain and the US.

American soldiers recounted the incident years later, saying they were forced to abandon the area as British troops marched through on your way to Yorktown.

Continental Army soldier Spencer Davis gave a written testimony in the early 1880s, stating that the enemy appeared at night and ‘beat up our quarters.’

‘There was some little fighting & two of my acquaintances … [were] killed,’ he continued.

‘The Americans retreated about nine miles that night, & saw the light from the conflagration of the Barracks.’

The patriot army stationed in Colonial Williamsburg was led by Captain David Humphrey, a close friend of George Washington.

Archaeologists have been working at the site since the summer of 2023 but announced their discoveries this past May.

‘This site, which was occupied from 1777 to 1781, is particularly valuable since it was built and used only for one purpose,’ reads the Colonial Williamsburg’s official site.

‘In addition, a significant portion of the site has been largely undisturbed since the barracks were destroyed.’

The housing units, found in Colonial Williamsburg, were constructed around 1776, but later destroyed by the forces of British general Charles Cornwallis in 1781

A lead shot with a took mark was found. Soldiers would chew on the shots because of their sweet flavor

The barracks site is estimated to be roughly three to four acres large. Currently, only a small percentage of the site has been excavated.

The team also uncovered personal items from the American soldiers, including a metal military belt that has since been weathered by the elements.

A blue glass button, still shining as if it were just made, a small musket ball, was also found at the site.

The tooth mark in the lead shot was left by a soldier gnawing on it due to the sweet taste – it was a common practice among the military.

The team also uncovered personal items from the American soldiers, including a metal military belt that has since been weathered by the elements

 A blue glass button, still shining as if it were just made, was found

Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg executive director of archaeology, said: ‘We have horseshoes.

‘We also have this object here which is a snaffle bit, so it’s part of a horse bit that goes in the mouth to control the horse.

‘And this object here is part of a curry comb for brushing down the horse’s coat.’

‘Here at Colonial Williamsburg, we interpret the American Revolution and the politics that led up to it, and a lot of the events that led up to it. 

The excavation also found small gun parts

A 250-year-old Virginia half penny was also found in the earth

Williamsburg was founded as the capital of the Virginia Colony in 1699 and was one of America’s first planned cities. The original capital, Jamestown was the first permanent English-speaking settlement in the New World founded in 1607

‘But then, we don’t have a lot of sites that tell us about what actually happened during the wartime. And this site does. 

‘It allows us to get some insight into the everyday lives of your everyday common soldier. it also tells us about what the officers’ lives were like.’

Williamsburg was founded as the capital of the Virginia Colony in 1699 and was one of America’s first planned cities.

The original capital, Jamestown, was the first permanent English-speaking settlement in the New World founded in 1607.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The community college campus where Dr. Jill Biden teaches is just nine miles southwest of the White House.

But it is one of the very few places in the Washington DC area where the rapidly unraveling crisis surrounding President Biden’s re-election is not one of the hot topics – more than 15 students interviewed by The Post this week had not heard of it.

Some students who know “Dr. B,” as she is called by many at the Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) campus, did not even realize she is the First Lady – and married to the president.

Most staffers and administrators The Post spoke to declined comment, saying they had been told by NOVA brass not to talk to reporters. Only one staffer, who did not give his name, spoke out about Jill, who has taught English at the college since 2009.

“You know she swans in here with her entourage a couple of times a week and makes everyone call her ‘Doctor,’ he said, referring to the secret service agents who accompany her.

“I don’t know her personally but it’s a little bit of a joke. Most teachers here don’t insist on being called Dr.”

First Lady Jill Biden has famously been “Dr.” Jill Biden since 2007, when she was awarded her doctorate in education, or Ed.D., from the University of Delaware.

Her dissertation was on community colleges, titled “Student retention at the community college: meeting students’ needs.”

“I stay out of politics and I don’t watch the news,” a 20-year-old Afghani student who was almost fully veiled told The Post as she walked down one of the paved walkways to the campus store. “I know Dr. B. I almost took her class.”

Others who do know Jill Biden is also FLOTUS did not know there was a controversy over her 81-year-old husband’s cognitive abilities and whether or not he would be capable of governing for the next four years, after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump last week.

“What, he might have dementia?” said one of two young, American-born male students leaving campus for the day when approached by a Post reporter and asked about the controversy over the president. “I feel so bad for him. Is that really true? That’s so sad. I heard about the debate, but not this.”

Two American-born students playing ping-pong outside the student center, just across from the building housing Jill Biden’s classroom, said they were first-year students but did not know the first lady taught at the school.

Only one student, Chris Bladen, agreed his name could be used and he said he didn’t want to say anything bad about Jill Biden or her husband “because I might be the biggest Trump-hater in the world. I just wish we had better candidates.”

In fairness, as Jill Biden herself indicated to Vogue this month, a number of the students at NOVA’s Alexandria campus are recent immigrants and can’t necessarily be expected to know the nuances of American politics. Others, she said, are older women looking to re-enter the workforce.

“Whatever I give them,” she told Vogue, “it has to be short. Because they leave my class and go straight to work, many of them. They may work until eight o’clock, then they have to do my homework, and they might have kids, too, or parents to take care of.”

She also told Vogue she often assigns “articles” rather than books because books are expensive – but said she does like to assign students Trevor Noah’s 2019 memoir, “Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood.”

NOVA accepts 100 percent of its applicants and some of the 14,000 in attendance at the Alexandria campus are Afghani immigrants.

Alexandria, which is a sanctuary city, has just one public high school with many Afghan refugees, a number of whom come to NOVA.

A spokesperson for NOVA didn’t provide a comment to The Post by press time, while a representative for Jill Biden didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Dr. Biden, who taught as recently as May but does not appear to be on the summer teaching schedule, received a grade of 4.5 out of a possible 5 score on the “Rate my professors” site.

Many reviewers praise her, a few say she is not that organized — but the majority of them agree she is a tough grader.

“Am I allowed to say something mean?” asked one US-born student who did not want to give his name but said he had taken one class with her. “Because she’s kind of mean. I had one class with her. I didn’t really like her. It was impossible to please her.”

Prior to coming to NOVA, Jill Biden spent 15 years as a professor at Delaware Technical Community College and before that she was a high school teacher.

Jill Biden got considerable flack after her husband was elected president in Nov. 2020 for insisting on the “Dr.” title. Interestingly, her first Vogue cover, in June 2021, included the title on the cover. This month’s cover story did not.

“You can tell someone is smarting from an inferiority complex when he insists on being addressed as “Dr.” on the basis of holding an academic doctorate rather than being a physician,” Kyle Smith wrote in the National Review in Dec. 2020.

“Ph.D. holders who have genuine accomplishments don’t make you call them “Doctor,” which is why you never hear about “Dr. Paul Krugman” and “Dr. George Will.” None of the professors I knew at Yale, even the ones who were eminent in their fields, insisted on the title, and I think most of them would have scoffed if someone had addressed them as “Dr.”

In a 2021 Washington Post profile of Jill Biden, the educator included glowing reviews by some of her former students.

“She never really addressed the whole thing about being Jill Biden,” said Juliette Rosso, who had Biden as an English professor in 2017. “She was genuine, and she was humble.”

Mikaela Stack told the paper about Biden: “She cares deeply. She’s incredibly engaging and challenging and kind.”