Tysons Casino Backer Paid $54K For 2024 General Assembly Lobbying

RICHMOND, VA — Aside from contributing more than $1.2 million in donations to various political action committees and the campaigns of state and local candidates, the developer behind the Tysons casino effort also paid $52,213 to five lobbyists it retained before the start of the 2024 Virginia General Assembly.

Last December, Comstock Hospitality Holdings, a business entity the Reston-based developer created in September 2023, hired or retained the five lobbyists to represent their interests in Richmond and advocate for Sen. Dave Marsden’s (D-Burke) casino referendum bill.

If passed, Senate Bill 675 would give the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors the authority to put a referendum on a future ballot to let voters decide whether or not to build a casino in Tysons.

• Related: Tysons Casino Referendum Bill Awaits 2025 VA General Assembly

Comstock Hospitality Lobbyists For 2024 Legislative Session

Each of Comstock Hospitality’s five lobbyists registered with the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council. They also had a June 30 deadline to file a financial disclosure to explaining how they were compensated. Each of the following disclosures were approved by Comstock CEO Christopher Clemente.

• $5,000 - Robert G. Crockett of Advantas Strategies was retained on Dec. 21, 2023 to handle the administrative and legislative duties concerning Comstock Hospitality.
• $12,513 - Matthew James, a former member of the House of Delegates, was retained on Jan. 1, 2024 to handle issues concerning Comstock Hospitality.
• $20,000 - David Jones was retained on Jan 1, 2024 to handle legislative matters for Comstock
• $10,000 - Teddy Petersen of Arbor Strategies was retained on Dec. 18, 2023 to issues relating to a potential casino in Northern Virginia.
• $5,000 - Kyle Shreve of Advantas Strategies was retained on Dec. 21, 2023 to handle all executive and legislative matters relating to Comstock Hospitality.

Total: $52,213

Comstock Hospitality Lobbyists For 2025 Legislative Session

Since the end of the 2024 General Assembly, Comstock Hospitality has hired Kathy Neilson to handle community relations and Mark Snesavage to be the Reston developer’s director of government relations. Both are registered as lobbyists.

Prior to joining Comstock Hospitality, Neilson worked as state Sen. Chap Petersen's (D-Fairfax) chief of staff.

Related: Tysons Casino Backer Makes $75K In Political Donations Since January

Snesavage was director of government affairs and member services for the Fredericksburg Area Builders Association and before that served as state Sen. Bryce Reeves's (R-Spotsylvania) chief of staff for five years.

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.

In addition to Nielson and Snesavage, nine other people registered as lobbyists for Comstock Holdings or Comstock Hospitality.

• Michael Carlin of Access Point Public Affairs was retained on Oct. 7, 2024 to oversee issues pertaining to Comstock Hospitality Holdings.
• Robert Crockett of Advantus Strategies was retained on Oct. 8 to handle all administrative and legislative duties concerning Comstock Hospitality Holdings.
• Susan Gaston of the Gaston Group LLC was retained on Oct. 8 2024 to oversee all issues concerning Comstock Hospitality.
• Matthew James was retained on June 6, 2024 to oversee Real Estate Development.
• Alexander Macaulay of the Macaulay Jamerson Satterlund & Sessa firm was retained on Oct. 11, 2024 to oversee all matters concerning Comstock Hospitality Holdings.
• David May of the Macaulay Jamerson Satterlund & Sessa firm was retained on Oct. 11, 2024 to oversee all matters concerning Comstock Hospitality Holdings.
• Kyle Shreve of Advantas Strategies was retained on Oct. 8, 2023 to handle all executive and legislative matters relating to Comstock Hospitality.
• Taylor Cassidy of Access Point Public Affairs was retained on Oct. 11, 2024 to handle all matters pertaining to Comstock Hospitality.

Since Comstock retained these nine lobbyists on or after the June 30 deadline, they are not required to file a financial disclosure until next year. So, it will take until June 30, 2025, to find out how much Comstock Hospitality paid them for the work they will do during the 2025 Virginia General Assembly session.

This is the second of two stories about Comstock Holdings' preparations for the 2025 session of the Virginia General Assembly. View part one here.