McLEAN, Va. — A Virginia Senate committee on Tuesday rejected legislation that would have allowed a referendum on a casino in the wealthy suburbs of the nation’s capital.
The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted 13-2 against a bill that would have allowed Fairfax County to hold a referendum on building a casino and conference center in Tysons Corner, a neighborhood currently home to high-end retail and office developments .
The committee vote effectively kills the bill before this year’s legislative session, but it offers casino supporters a little hope that it could be revived in the future. The committee rejected a motion to kill the bill outright, instead opting to carry the bill over to 2025 for future consideration.
The committee’s chairman, Sen. L. Louise Lucas, had said at an earlier subcommittee hearing that she wanted to find a way to keep the bill alive and get updated research on the potential tax revenue that could be generated. Lucas is a supporter of casino legislation and noted during the subcommittee hearing that she is known in the General Assembly as the “casino queen.”
Civic groups in neighborhoods around the proposed casino strongly opposed the idea, expressing concerns about traffic and crime.
Some state and county lawmakers also said a casino was not appropriate. They noted that the legislation specified that a casino would be located along the region’s Silver Line Metrorail station, which the county considers prime real estate for more desirable commercial development.
“This is where Fortune 500 companies have made their home,” Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, an opponent of the casino, said of Tysons Corner. “This is not something that the Fortune 500s would want to have in their communities.”
But the bill’s sponsor, Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax, said demand for prime office space has declined since the pandemic and Fairfax County needs the ability to diversify its tax base.
As for neighborhood opposition, Marsden said a referendum would allow the province as a whole, not a particular neighborhood, to decide whether they want the revenue boost a casino would provide.
“No neighborhood wants any kind of development, not really,” Marsden said. “We all know that.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said the casino would generate revenue that could save every taxpayer in the county $500 to $600 annually.
A 2019 study commissioned by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee found that a casino in northern Virginia could generate $155 million in tax revenue annually, more than any other casino built in Virginia.
“There aren’t many bills that have come before this committee that offer so much potential revenue,” Marsden said. “This absolutely needs to be considered.”
Casino supporters have pointed to the success of Maryland’s MGM casino in National Harbor, which is across the Potomac River from Virginia and relies heavily on Northern Virginia for its customer base.
Connie Hartke of the Reston Citizens Association, one of the community groups that has lined up against the casino, said citizen opposition to a casino will only continue to grow if proponents make another attempt next year.
“We are very familiar with long-term fights,” she said. “Next year we will be even stronger.”
Also on Tuesday, the committee voted in favor of legislation that would allow Petersburg to hold a referendum on a casino.
Virginia voted in 2020 to allow locations in five cities, subject to a referendum. Bristol, Danville, Portsmouth and Norfolk all voted for a casino; Richmond voters twice rejected a proposed casino in that city.
Petersburg, less than 25 miles (40.23 kilometers) south of Richmond, has sought the opportunity to host the casino that Richmond turned down.
The committee also rejected a bill Tuesday that would allow online sports gamblers to bet on college games involving Virginia teams. Like Northern Virginia’s casino law, the legislation was carried over to 2025 instead of being repealed outright.