Politics & Government
Tysons Site Stripped From Casino Bill In VA Legislature
A gaming bill advanced for a full vote in the Virginia Senate Tuesday without requiring that a proposed casino be built in Tysons.
Updated 5:20 p.m.
RICHMOND, VA — A gaming bill advanced to the Senate floor Tuesday morning with a change that removed a key requirement that a casino be built in Tysons.
The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted 10 to 5 to send the revised bill to the full Senate for a vote.
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At that point, amendments can be made to the bill. After the final bill is read three times on the floor, the full Senate will vote on whether to adopt the bill and send it to the House of Delegates.
Lynne Mulston, chair of the No Fairfax Casino Coalition, a grassroots alliance of residents and community organizations opposing the bill, said, “We are traveling to Richmond on Thursday, February 12, as representatives of the people of Fairfax County to correct the record and challenge the misinformation 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.
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"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 casino development anywhere in Fairfax County," Mulston said. "Further, this legislation undermines Fairfax County’s land-use authority, despite the Board of Supervisors having clearly and repeatedly expressed their opposition.
"We urge our leaders in Richmond to listen to the people they represent: Fairfax County government, the businesses that drive our local economy, and the residents who call this county home," Mulston added. "Common sense must prevail over special interests. This bill continues to serve a narrow set of private interests — not the broader community. No one in Fairfax County has asked for this, except the politicians who introduced it and the developer who stands to profit if it moves forward."
Members of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Resources Subcommittee changed Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell's (D-Mount Vernon) legislation to remove language that restricted the casino to Tysons.
"Senator Surovell, the committee substitute removes out the mandated location of the casino, it was not really the only difference," said April Kees, a committee staff member, prior to the vote.
The earlier version of the bill called for the casino to be built along Metro’s Silver Line outside I-495 in Fairfax County. This is the fourth year the Virginia Legislature has grappled with the controversial casino plan; a 2024 bill added language that narrowed the location to Tysons.
Patch reached out to the subcommittee and the clerk's office for a copy of the substitute, but one was not available. This story will be updated as more information becomes available. Refresh link to view updates.
In 2025, the Senate passed Surovell's Tysons casino referendum bill, which died in a House subcommittee.
This year, the Senate Gaming Subcommittee voted on Jan. 26 to advance SB756 to the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee, which recommended the bill to the Finance and Appropriations Committee two days later.
Read Patch's reporting on Comstock Companies' plan to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.
In January 2023, State Sen. David Marsden (D-Burke) and Del. Wren Williams (R-Stuart) first introduced a bill calling for a casino to be built somewhere on Metro's Silver line outside the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County. Facing vocal opposition, the two lawmakers quickly withdrew their bill.
Marsden resubmitted the bill during the 2024 legislative session, but the legislation died in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
Comstock Holding Companies, a Reston developer, has spent more than $2.5 million on campaign contributions and lobbyists in support of the proposed casino. The bill has the backing of serveral labor unions and the Northern Virginia Chamber.
In October, the Freedom Virginia Political Action Committee released the results of a survey showing that 75 percent of Fairfax County residents opposed a casino being built in Tysons.
Two months later, the Board of Supervisors voted 5 to 4 to include language in its 2026 legislative program that expressed opposition to the bill.
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