Fairfax Co. Casino Bill Vote Draws Ire Of NoVA Activists, Officials

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — As news spread that the Virginia House of Delegates passed an amended version of the Fairfax County casino bill on Wednesday, opponents in Richmond and Northern Virginia were quick to express their displeasure.

“We’re disappointed with this result, and disappointed that our representatives weren’t allowed to voice their opposition to this bill on the House floor," said Paula Martino, president of the Tysons Stakeholder Alliance.

"The ill-conceived and radioactively unpopular Fairfax County casino bill regrettably passed the House of Delegates today," said Supervisor Jimmy Bierman (D-Dranesville) in a statement. "I thank the majority of the members of the Fairfax County delegation who listened to the people of our County and voted against it. I share their and my constituents' disappointment with this outcome and urge the Governor to veto the bill to ensure that this silly idea goes no further."

In December, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to include language in its 2026 legislative program opposing any legislation to emerge from Richmond promoting a casino referendum.

"If this bill does become law, I look forward to upholding my duty as the duly elected representative of the Dranesville District and, on behalf of my constituents, flatly rejecting a costly, divisive, and clearly unnecessary casino referendum as soon as possible," Bierman said. "It’s a shame that Richmond has wasted all of our time while so clearly ignoring the people of Fairfax County and the Board of Supervisors."

The House of Delegates passed Senate Bill 756 as amended on a 59 to 37 vote, with one abstention and two delegates not voting.

Scroll Down To View Supervisor Jimmy Bierman's Full Statement.

Shortly after the vote was taken, the Virginia Senate rejected the House version of the bill and voted to confer with members from the other chamber to hammer out joint legislation, which would then be sent to Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) for her signature.

Representing the Senate will be the bill's sponsor, Majority Leader Scott (D-Mount Vernon), Sen. Bryce Reeves (R-Fredericksburg), and Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke), who carried earlier versions of the casino legislation during the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions.

On the House side will be Dels. Luke Torian (D-Prince William), Keith Hodges (R-Urbanna), and Rodney Willett (D-Henrico), who introduced SB756 to the House floor on Wednesday for a vote.

Also See ...

• Fairfax Co. Casino Bill Sent Back To Senate For Reconsideration
• Fairfax County Casino Bill Sent To Full VA House For Vote
• Fairfax County Casino Bill Revised To Require Local Voter Approval

Rep. Rip Sullivan (D-Great Falls), who represents many of the same constituents as Bierman, was also disappointed with Wednesday's outcome.

"My 6th District constituents and Fairfax residents more broadly have made it abundantly clear that they do not want a casino in Tysons and have serious concerns about it being anywhere else in the county," he said. "There have been fundamental issues with this legislation from the beginning."

Del. Irene Shin (D-Herndon) turned to social media to vent her frustration over Wednesday's vote.

Read Patch's reporting on Comstock Companies' plan to build a casino in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.

"The community has been unequivocal in their opposition to proposals to develop a casino in Fairfax County for YEARS," she posted on X. "This is, however, not the end of the road & I will continue to remain opposed to these efforts."

Sullivan and Shin were not alone in their opposition to the casino bill. They were joined by 35 other delegates voting against the legislation, including 10 who represent portions of Fairfax County: Dels. Gretchen Bulova (D-Fairfax); Karrie Delaney (D-Alexandria); Dan Helmer (D-Burke); Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria); Karen Keys-Gamarra (D-Reston); Paul Krizek (D-Alexandria), Holly Siebold (D-Vienna); Marcus Simon (D-Falls Church); Kathy Tran (D-Springfield); and Vivian Watts (D-Annandale).

Only two lawmakers with constituents in Fairfax County voted in favor of SB 756: Dels. Laura Jane Cohen (D-Burke) and Rozia Henson Jr. (D-Prince William).

The following is the full text of Supervisor Jimmy Bierman's (D-Dranesville) statement following Wednesday's vote.

"The ill-conceived and radioactively unpopular Fairfax County casino bill regrettably passed the House of Delegates today. I thank the majority of the members of the Fairfax County delegation who listened to the people of our County and voted against it. I share their and my constituents' disappointment with this outcome and urge the Governor to veto the bill to ensure that this silly idea goes no further. That being said, in the event that this unwanted and unwise option lands at the feet of the Board of Supervisors, I look forward to standing with the people of Fairfax County, who repeatedly in polls have rejected this idea at a nearly 3-1 clip, and ending this ddiculous charade once and for all.

"From the start, I have criticized this bill as seeking to yet again use working families of Fairfax County as an ATM for the rest of the Commonwealth all in service of lining the pockets of a single well-heeled casino developer. I have pointed out faulty tax revenue projections (revenue that, even under the best of circumstances, would not be realized for more than half a decade) and emphasized that this idea represents economic development in the reverse for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. This isn't a plan to lower property taxes; it's a plan to enrich casino magnates. The saga in the House over the past week has done everything to prove my criticisms fair and accurate.

"The Board of Supervisors has been crystal clear that it has no interest in this bill that maintains a revenue split that deeply disfavors the County, that infringes upon local land-use prerogatives, and that turns the process by which casino gaming has been introduced into every other Commonwealth locality, with local representatives leading the way, on its head. In response to these stated concerns and others, Del. Paul Krizek (D-Alexandria) presented and passed a substitute bill in the General Laws Committee that, among other things, required that any referendum pass not just County-wide but in the Magisterial District where the casino was to be located, created a 50/50 state/local revenue split (which, incidentally, still would not have met the Board's requirement that a split substantially favor the County), upped the tax rate to a flat 40 percent, created a $150 million casino licensing fee split equally, and implemented labor protections.

"But these new provisions were subsequently stripped right back out of the bill in the Appropriations Committee. In other words, bill proponents freely admitted that a truly localized referendum would never pass, quite an admission especially considering that a single Magisterial District is, in fact, larger than the localities of Bristol, Danville, Petersburg, and Portsmouth that have all conducted referendums. (Those preaching that we should “just let the people decide” suddenly lose interest when it involves the people most affected!) Bill proponents further showed that they have no interest in altering a revenue split that fundamentally favors the Commonwealth at the expense of the County. Only it’s even worse: in rejecting the increased tax rate proposed by Delegate Krizek’s substitute, bill proponents in fact passed a bill that will result in fewer tax dollars for the Commonwealth and the County, which can only at best be seen as an admission that the claims regarding the lucrativeness of a Fairfax County casino have been grossly overstated. (So much for lowering property taxes!) And of course, after bill proponents have repeatedly claimed that this bill isn't really about a single developer but is a pro-labor bill due to a side agreement no one has ever seen with a single developer, the bill will contain no labor protections whatsoever. Simply put, this bill is not beating the allegations that it is designed to benefit a prospective casino developer, not the people of Fairfax County.

"The Spanberger Administration has already expressed skepticism at expanding the Commonwealth’s gaming options without a Gaming Commission and it remains questionable what bills like this one have to do with the major issues of affordability facing Virginians today. I hope that Governor Spanberger will see this bill for what it is and veto it.

"Make no mistake though: if this bill does become law, I look forward to upholding my duty as the duly elected representative of the Dranesville District and, on behalf of my constituents, flatly rejecting a costly, divisive, and clearly unnecessary casino referendum as soon as possible. It’s a shame that Richmond has wasted all of our time while so clearly ignoring the people of Fairfax County and the Board of Supervisors."