What To Know About Renewed Tysons Casino Plans

TYSONS, VA — As the Virginia General Assembly opened this week, a new bill was submitted in a bid to build a casino in Fairfax County. Here's a recap of where things stand with the controversial measure.

Patch reported that Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon) submitted Senate Bill 982 on Wednesday as the legislative session began. Submitted in the two previous sessions, the new bill seeks to give the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors the authority to put a casino referendum on a future ballot.

Reston-based Comstock Holding Companies has spent nearly $1.5 million in contributions and lobbying efforts to have a casino referendum bill passed and signed into law. At the same time, MGM Resorts and others have spent more than $755,000 to keep the bill from being passed.

SB982 was referred to the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology, which meets 30 minutes after the morning general assembly session on Wednesdays.

No Fairfax Casino Coalition Lobbying Day

The No Fairfax Casino Coalition, made up of local citizen activists opposing the casino effort, will hold a lobbying day on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Anyone who wishes to ride down to Richmond on the coalition's bus needs to register online by noon on Monday, Jan. 13.

Supervisor Jimmy Bierman Provides Casino Update

On Thursday, Supervisor Jimmy Bierman (D-Dranesville) sent a newsletter to his constituents, providing an update on the casino legislation.

"As I have publicly and repeatedly stated, and as so many of you have implored me to do, I oppose this bill," he said. "As has been pointed out ad nauseum, in contrast to every other instance in which a casino has been proposed under state legislation, the locality here has never asked for this authority. Placing a casino (with all the negative attendant consequences) on highly sought after land on the Silver Line runs directly contrary to the Tysons Plan, which has been the source of significant economic, housing, and job growth opportunities for the County, all of which could be imperiled by the creation of 'The Tysons Strip.'"

Fairfax NAACP Hosts Casino/Entertainment Complex Community Forum

On Tuesday, Fairfax County NAACP hosted an Entertainment Complex Community Forum, which was livestreamed on Facebook, where a recording of the forum can be viewed.

Reporter Michael Pope of Virginia Public Media moderated the forum, which included Virginia Diamond of the Northern Virginia Labor Federation, AFL-CIO; Terry Clower, the Northern Virginia chair and professor of public policy in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University; Lynne Mulston of the No Fairfax Casino Coaltion; and John Harrison, senior vice president of development at Comstock Holding Companies.

Related:

• Tysons Casino Poses National Security Threat: Intelligence Experts
• Make Casino Opposition Priority: Vienna Mayor To Fairfax Supervisors
• Casino Would Hurt Tysons Plan, Job Growth On Silver Line: Supervisor
• 5K Union Jobs, Workforce Housing Among Benefits Of Casino: Union
• Bishop Declines Casino Advocate’s Invitation To Play Bingo
• Casino Bill Should Be Rejected By Fairfax Supervisors: Former Lawmaker
• Casino Backers Spent $1.5M On Political Contributions, Lobbying
• $755K Spent To Defeat Tysons Casino Referendum Bill By MGM, PR Firm

Read all of Patch's reporting on the plan to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.