Sporttrade sports betting app now live in Virginia

Philadelphia-based sports betting operator Sporttrade announced on Thursday it is now live in Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia becomes the fifth U.S. state to welcome Sporttrade.

"We are incredibly proud to keep the Fall 2024 momentum going with our launch in the Commonwealth" said Alex Kane, Sporttrade Founder and CEO. "There is an appetite for premium betting in Virginia, for significantly better prices at higher limits, for instant in-play betting, and a mobile experience that's sleek and intuitive.

"Sporttrade is becoming the home of in-game betting, where players are able to place and cash out of bets, frictionlessly, as the probabilities shift," said Kane. "Thank you to the Virginia Lottery, thank you to our players, partners, and investors, and most of all, I want to thank the Sporttrade family of employees."

Qualified and eligible players will be able to place bets starting today in Virginia on the Sporttrade iOS application while plans to launch on Android are set for later this year.

Sporttrade joins 11 other sports betting operators currently operating in the Old Dominion; Bally Bet, bet365, BetMGM, Betr Sportsbook, BetRivers Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, ESPN BET, Fanatics Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, and Hard Rock Bet.

Virginia has a huge appetite for sports betting. In August alone sports bettors in the Commonwealth wagered over $416 million on events. The $416 million wagered in August 2024 is 30.6% higher than in August 2023.

Since its launch in January 2021, sports bettors in Virginia have wagered over $17 billion on events.

New Rose Gaming Resort now open in Dumfries, Virginia

With no advance notice or opening date announcement, Churchill Downs quietly notified its existing customers on Wednesday that its new gaming resort in Dumfries, Va., is now open.

“We’re thrilled to announce that the gaming floor at The Rose Gaming Resort is officially open,” the company said in an email to customers. “Come experience the excitement firsthand as we welcome our first guests.” But the resort warns services are “limited” as the location builds up to a grand opening next month.

“Please note, we are currently offering limited food & beverage options while we work on expanding our dining experiences,” the company said. “We appreciate your understanding and can’t wait to see you soon. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to build towards our Grand Opening on November 7.”

Delays

The new gambling site is managed by Colonial Downs and Churchill Downs. Churchill Downs became the parent company of Colonial Downs in 2022 and is now managing the Rose Gaming Resort. After several delays, the company finally set a schedule to have the new facility open in late fall this year. No opening date was ever announced until now.

Before Churchill Downs was involved in the project, Colonial Downs Group planned to open the gaming floor in October 2023 and the hotel in January 2024.

In February, the Town of Dumfries approved a “proffer” amendment that allowed Churchill Downs to add additional games at the resort located in Prince William County. The facility is located on the side of the former Potomac Landfill bordered by Virginia Route 234 and Interstate 95. The groundbreaking was held in January 2022 and was expected to be open by now.

Without the gaming resort open, the town was unable to gain tax revenue. To contribute to the shortfall in tax revenue, Churchill Downs made a financial offer to the Town of Dumfries and increased the number of gaming machines in the facility.

The new resort has a hotel, restaurants, special event space, and a gaming floor packed with Historical Horse Racing (HHR) machines for gamblers. Although the hotel will not be open to the public at this time, the resort said in their email on Wednesday.

Historical Horse Racing Machines

HHR machines are very similar to traditional casino slot machines but determine a win differently. Winning jackpots on a HHR machine are determined by randomly selecting a horse race from a historical database to see if the player wins. Wins on standard casino slot machines are determined by a Random Number Generator or RNG.

The resort says all 1,650 HHR games are available to play including Ultimate Fire Link, Devil's Lock, Buffalo games, Rakin' Bacon, and more.

Guests visiting the new resort can enter the Million Dollar Sweepstakes contest for a chance to win up to $1 million in cash on Nov. 30.

Time to clean house, NASA disposes of nine aircraft used in aviation crash test

A large test gantry structure in Hampton, Va., used for full-scale crash and impact tests on aircraft and spacecraft is a national historical landmark, according to NASA’s Langley Research Center.

The Landing and Impact Research Facility, better known as “the gantry,” continues to serve NASA and the nation as a unique venue for testing aviation land and spacecraft water impact research. But now it’s time to clean up the area littered with crashed aircraft and helicopters.

On Tuesday, NASA’s Langley Research Center released a Combined Synopsis/Solicitation contract document seeking a contractor with the ability to clean up all the crashed aircraft and debris left behind from impact testing.

“This is a service contract to procure services to demolish several aircraft and other test articles left abandoned at various sites throughout the NASA Langley facility,” NASA said in contract documents. “Demolition of aircraft shall damage all aircraft components to an extent that they cannot be utilized for spare parts.” The work will remove nine aircraft from the property.

The articles to be demolished are as follows:

At the Landing and Impact Research facility (building 1297, also known as the gantry):

• A Beechcraft Starship fuselage approximately 40 feet long located under a tent.
• The “System of Struts” test article located under a tent.
• A crashed Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter that is approximately 44 ft long.
• A crashed Fokker F-28 aircraft that is approximately 90 ft long.
• Pile of miscellaneous metal structures including landing gear, aircraft wings, and a 30 ft section of fuselage.

At the firehouse (building 1238)

• A crashed Cessna 172 that is approximately 27 ft long.

Behind the model shop (building 1238B)

• Approximately 10 ft of the tail of a helicopter.

In the laydown yard between buildings 1244 and 1245

• A large carbon steel test stand is approximately 16 x 16 x 24 ft.

Beside the hangar (building 1244)

• An inoperable HU-25 aircraft that is approximately 55 ft long.

All the aircraft have been drained of fluids and hazardous materials.

“The contractor shall permit NASA-appointed witnesses to watch aircraft and document the demolition process,” NASA said. “The contractor shall provide NASA with an estimate of the final value of the scrap metal produced during the demolition process.”

Companies interested in working on the project have until Oct. 29 to respond to NASA.