In December of 2023, State Senator Dave Marsden (D-35) announced plans for a bill that would authorize the opening of a casino in Fairfax County, specifically Reston. Last year, though, his proposal envisioned far more than a casino and included a convention center, concert hall, hotel, and other amenities. However, on February 1st, the Virginia Senate Subcommittee on Resources held a 4-0 vote on the bill. Fairfax County Board Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) testified personally against the bill.
”I am a strong no,” Alcorn said. “And I’d be happy to put in the record my letter expressing my concerns and also maps showing my district and which areas would be authorized under this legislation.”
The floor was then opened for other members of the audience to testify freely.
“The Town of Vienna is strongly opposed to any casino, even the proposal of a casino in Tysons,” said the Mayor of Vienna, Linda Colbert (Independent). She added that the town of Vienna was originally planned in conjunction with Tyson’s Corner, and the addition of a casino had never been part of their vision. “Town of Vienna residents are just really, really strongly against this. I have not heard from one resident, actually, that is for it,” she concluded.
The committee unanimously approved a motion to combine SB 628 with SB 345 to alter the list of cities eligible to host a casino. This move comes after a twice-rejected motion on a Richmond casino was returned directly to Marsden’s desk. Marsden characterized his role as a Fairfax County senator as requiring him to “offer the county options for revenue issues.” “It would help with school construction funding and local needs. (…) Fairfax County is losing a lot of commercial real estate income, and the decline in Metro ridership has added greatly to the burden,” Marsden added. He cited the statistic that Virginia clients provide thirty percent of the revenue from the MGM casino in Prince George’s County, and called this event a “two hundred and fifty million dollar loss to the Commonwealth.”
Virginia Diamond, president of the Virginia chapter of The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), testified that his labor union “strongly supports this bill for the great jobs that it is going to create for members of our community.” He proposed that the bill could provide up to 4,200 jobs.
Despite this, the simple voice vote failed, 4-0. Alcorn spoke to reporters afterwards: “Senate Bill 675 authorizing a casino in Tysons is dead for this year and carried over to 2025 after a vote by the Senate Resource Subcommittee. I’m very happy that the subcommittee members listened to the community and the people elected to represent them. It is a big victory for everyone who cares about good government.”
