No Fairfax Casino Coalition Heads To Richmond To Voice Opposition

RESTON, VA — Members of the No Fairfax Casino Coalition departed Reston at 6 a.m. on Wednesday to lobby lawmakers in Richmond about Senate Bill 982, which, if passed, would pave the way for a casino to be built in Tysons.

Although Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) had introduced a casino referendum bill the last two legislative sessions, Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon) is carrying a nearly identical bill in the current Virginia General Assembly session.

“Basically, we're going down for the same reason we went down last year, which is to try to kill this bill before it gets out of committee, and hopefully to kill it permanently,” said Vienna Town Councilman Chuck Anderson, when asked about Wednesday's trip.

The town council was so concerned about the prospect of a casino being built near its eastern border that opposition to the casino was the No. 1 item on the legislative package the council submitted to its representatives in Richmond.

“The pro-casino folks are going to be spouting tax revenue benefits and it's not going to harm. There are going to be no social cost involved," No Fairfax Casino Co-Chair Lynne Mulston told WUSA9. "We have contrary data, and it is peer-reviewed research so they can say all they want, we know what the truth is. We know how communities are damaged from crime, drug addiction.”

Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon), who has been leading the fight in the Senate against the casino referendum bill, is scheduled to host a press conference at 11 a.m., during which Anderson plans to speak. He will be joined by Vienna Mayor Linda J. Colbert and Fairfax County Supervisors Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) and Jimmy Bierman (D-Dranesville).

Push For Tysons Casino

Patch first reported in September 2023 that Comstock Holding Companies wanted to build a casino somewhere in Fairfax County on Metro’s Silver Line outside the Capital Beltway. During the 2024 session, Marsden added language to the bill narrowing the location to Tysons.

Opposition to the bill has been loud and active in Fairfax County, with groups like No Tysons Casino speaking at public meetings and lobbying lawmakers. Wednesday’s trip is one example of the coalition’s anti-casino efforts.

View Sen. Jennifer Boysko's Jan. 15, 2024 news conference on Facebook

When SB982 was submitted by Surovell Jan. 8, it was referred to the Senate Committee on General Laws & Technology, which meets every Wednesday during session, 30 minutes after adjournment.

The lobbyists from Fairfax County were hoping to speak during the committee’s meeting on Wednesday, but as of 11 a.m., the bill was not on the committee’s Jan. 15 agenda.

A spokesman for Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), who chairs the committee, told Patch that the bill would be referred to the Gaming subcommittee during Wednesday afternoon's committee meeting. The Gaming subcommittee does not have a regular day or time to meet, but the meeting is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 21.

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.

The proposed project would include a 4 million-square-foot entertainment district in Tysons that would feature a high-end hotel with gaming floor, convention center, concert venue, restaurants, retail, and workforce housing. In addition, 200,000 square feet of the district would be dedicated to a casino.

On Tuesday, Surovell announced that three lawmakers were joining the pro-casino bill effort as co-patrons: Sens. Stella Pekarsky (D-Centreville), Lamont Bagby (D-Richmond) and Todd Pillion (R-Abington).

“My constituents are tired of rising property taxes hitting their pocketbooks while our schools remain chronically underfunded and our teachers are underpaid,” Pekarsky said. “An entertainment district will generate hundreds of millions of tax revenue dollars that can be used to relieve the pressure being felt by homeowners in Fairfax County, while generating thousands of jobs.”

Donations By Casino Developer To Lawmakers

As part of its reporting on the casino referendum legislation, Patch has been tracking the political donations Comstock reported to the State Board of Elections since Jan. 1, 2023. These are the donations that Comstock reported making to the three co-patrons.

Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D-Centreville)

• $2,500 - Building A Remarkable Virginia/Comstock PAC (11/04/2024)
• $10,000 - Comstock Holdings (06/30/24)

Sen. Lamont Bagby (D-Richmond)

• $10,000 - Building A Remarkable Virginia/Comstock PAC (01/05/2024)

Sen. Todd Pillion (R-Abington)

• $10,000 - Building A Remarkable Virginia/Comstock PAC (01/09/2024)

“In the Commonwealth of Virginia, money talks,” Anderson said. “There's plenty of opportunity for special interests to go into the system, into writing a piece of legislation, so it's difficult for citizens like ourselves, volunteers to beat that back.”

Patch acknowledges that Comstock, its employees, associates, partners, family members and others have a right to make donations to any candidate whose campaign they wish to support. They are also within their rights to create a political action committee to do so.

Patch is reporting this publicly available information; it is not saying that Comstock Holdings, its employees, associates, partners, family members or any others who contributed to the Building a Remarkable Virginia, other political action committees, or candidates running for office did anything illegal.