Virginia Senate Strips Tysons Location Requirement from Casino Bill

A shocking twist to an ongoing Virginia casino saga has opened the door to the state housing another venue, but not in its expected location.

State lawmakers stripped a provision requiring the proposed casino to be built in Tysons in Fairfax County. The bill, now free of a binding location requirement, will head to the Senate floor for a reading and ensuing vote. 

This is the fourth year that the state will consider legalizing a casino in Northern Virginia.

Virginia casino takes important step without Tysons

Senate Bill 756 was supported primarily by Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34).

The bill advanced with a 10-5 vote in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. Previously, the bill contained specific language that effectively restricted the build site to Tysons, although that is now gone. 

“The committee substitute removes the mandated location of the casino,” April Kees, the committee’s staff director, said when asked to describe the amendment in a resources subcommittee hearing. “That is, I believe, the only difference.”

Surovell was among the 10 voters who supported the amended version of the bill. Senators Jennifer Boysko (D-38), Adam Ebbin (D-39), Barbra Favola (D-40), Mark Obenshain (R-2) and Ryan McDougle (R-26) voted “No.”

Last year, the Senate approved Surovell’s casino referendum, which targeted the Tysons location. It eventually died in a House subcommittee. 

Despite the progress, the bill’s approval is far from guaranteed.

Opposition remains

In December, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 5-4 to oppose any legislation that was presented to legalize a Fairfax casino. 

Lynne Mulston of the No Fairfax Casino Coalition also said that, despite the changes, she and the coalition were still against the bill.

“Although the substitute version of the bill is intended to broaden the narrow location parameters of the original bill, our coalition, local businesses, and residents remain firmly opposed to the prospect of any casino development anywhere in Fairfax County,” she said, while sharing that she planned to charter a bus to head to Richmond to lobby against the bill on Thursday. “Further, this legislation undermines Fairfax County’s land use authority, despite the Board of Supervisors having clearly and repeatedly expressed their opposition.” 

She continued:

“We are representing the people of Fairfax County,” she said. “And our primary goal is to correct the record and challenge the misinformation that is being promoted by casino proponents. Fairfax County’s diverse and successful business community does not need this brand of economic development to remain a premier place to live and work.”

The bill will now advance to the Senate floor, where it must be read three times before a full vote can be held. A successful vote will send it to the House, where it failed last year.

If the bill is eventually signed into law, a referendum must be scheduled by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, where locals must approve a casino for one to be approved.