Bill to allow casino in Tysons on hold
Legislation under consideration in the General Assembly to allow a casino in Tysons is likely to be put on hold until next year.
The Resources Subcommittee of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on Feb. 1 recommended that Senate Bill 675 be continued to 2025.
“However, the bill is not finished,” said Sen. Jennifer Boysko, who opposes the measure. The full Finance and Appropriations Committee will take up the bill on Feb. 6. “While the full committee traditionally honors the recommendation of the subcommittee, it is not required to accept that recommendation,” she said.
The bill’s patron, Sen. Dave Marsden, a Democrat who represents the Annandale area, said a casino would generate revenue by attracting gamblers from out of state. That is necessary, he said, to make up for vacant offices resulting from the growth in employees turning to remote work.
Several other members of the General Assembly, the McLean Citizens Association, and other community groups oppose the casino bill. Their complaints center around traffic, the potential impact of a casino on the pro-family character of Tysons, the negative social implications of gambling, and the fact that most of the revenue would go to the state, not the county.
Some of that opposition was driven by heavy lobbying from the MGM casino at National Harbor in Maryland, which doesn’t want to lose the millions of dollars it gets from Virginia gamblers.
Related story: Bill to allow casino in Tysons advances in the state Senate
Members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors expressed similar concerns. Board Chair Jeffrey McKay called the casino bill “a really bad deal,” noting that only 30 percent of the revenue would come back to the county. He also complained that local officials weren’t consulted on the bill.
A study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) estimated a casino in Northern Virginia would generate $155 million in tax revenue for the state and would create 2,300 jobs.
The Resources Subcommittee called for JLARC to conduct a new study to look at the impact of a casino on Fairfax County.
You’re looking a gift horse in the mouth. If you don’t want to gamble don’t. Pls don’t tell me I can’t. As for too much traffic, that horse left the barn years ago. As for destroying the values of the neighborhood, what values are you worried about? The study is a waste of your tax dollars which could have been spent in syncing traffic lights through your clogged roads.