Fairfax casino bill moves forward in Va. Senate

A Virginia State Senate bill that could bring a casino to Tysons won a vote in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, pushing it forward to a full Senate vote later in the Virginia General Assembly session.

If passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Fairfax County voters would have the opportunity to vote on a casino referendum on this fall’s ballot.

Sen. Scott Surovell, SB 982’s chief sponsor, released a statement: “I am pleased my colleagues voted to advance Senate Bill 982 out of the Senate Finance Committee, where it died in the 2024 Regular Session. Positive action reflects that many of the concerns that have been raised about the project were in fact addressed by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) report on casino gaming in the commonwealth, and that this project presents a huge opportunity to fund school construction in the commonwealth.

“The majority of the Fairfax County delegation to the General Assembly supports giving Fairfax
County’s locality government the authority to let voters decide if they support an entertainment district in the County. The critics of the project have identified no alternative means to maintain our high quality public schools while closing a $300 million recurring revenue gap in the Fairfax County budget other than to keep raising real estate taxes on Fairfax County’s homeowners, renters and small businesses.

“Virginia residents are already sending billions of dollars per decade to Maryland in the Northern Virginia region by patronizing the MGM National Harbor Casino just over the Maryland state line. It is time to bring that money back to benefit our state and Fairfax County while building a world-class performing arts venue, a convention center, and creating thousands of union jobs so everyone who works in the county can live in the county. This bill will allow the voters of Fairfax County to decide whether or not the project should move forward.”

However, there are many opponents to the project, including a group of former federal defense and intelligence officers who say the proximity of a Tysons casino to the CIA headquarters and the nation’s hub of government contractors with top-secret clearances could pose a national security risk. The group known as National Security Leaders for Fairfax sent a letter expressing concerns to Fairfax County and state officials earlier this month, The Washington Post reported.

Under current state law, only five cities in Virginia are allowed to host one casino each: Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Petersburg and Portsmouth. Voters in each city have passed casino referendums on their ballots, and three casinos are now open in Bristol, Danville and Portsmouth, while Norfolk’s resort is under construction.

Last year, Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, sponsored a bill that would add Fairfax County to the list of localities that could host a casino, and the original proposed location was in Reston — a plan backed by developer Comstock Cos., which is developing Reston Station near the Dulles Toll Road. But plans changed to adjust the location near the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons after senators received pushback from community members. Ultimately, the bill failed in a Senate Finance Committee vote.

The 9-6 Finance Committee vote Tuesday was bipartisan, and Surovell’s bill will next be scheduled for a vote by the full Senate.