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A Virginia Senate bill that could eventually put a Fairfax County casino before voters is drawing intense opposition from local officials and a 50,000-member Facebook group determined to defeat it.
SB 982 would add Fairfax County to the list of Virginia localities eligible to host a casino. It would establish a process leading to a local referendum but would not authorize construction of a casino by itself.
Although the legislation does not identify Tysons by name, its detailed site requirements point to a specific part of the community. A proposed casino would have to be outside the Interstate 495 Beltway, within a quarter-mile of a Metro Silver Line station and within two miles of an enclosed regional mall containing at least 1.5 million square feet. It would also have to be part of a coordinated mixed-use development of at least 1.5 million square feet.
The bill was prefiled Jan. 7, 2025, and offered Jan. 8. It was referred to the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology on Jan. 7 and assigned to its Gaming subcommittee on Jan. 20.
Officials rally against the proposal
Opposition intensified after a Jan. 14 press conference in Richmond hosted by Sen. Jennifer Boysko. She said the legislation was crafted for one particular area of Tysons and would constrain the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ control over local land-use decisions.
“The developer, Comstock, has made some eye-popping political contributions, over a million dollars,” Boysko said. “Arm twisting has begun in full force to build political support.”
Boysko, who described herself as an avid supporter of organized labor, also challenged claims that the proposed development would create 5,000 union jobs. She said the developer lacked the authority to guarantee those jobs to prospective workers.
She further criticized Comstock over its withdrawal from a redevelopment commitment in the Town of Herndon. According to Boysko, the company signed a memorandum of understanding in 2017 and indicated as recently as August that the project remained on track, only to back out after the election.
Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn warned that the legislation represented a troubling expansion of state involvement in local land-use matters.
“Every local official in the Commonwealth of Virginia needs to worry about this bill,” Alcorn said.
He also rejected suggestions that Tysons needs a casino because the community is struggling economically. Alcorn called Tysons part of the economic engine of both Fairfax County and Virginia.
Supervisor James Bierman characterized the proposal as a bad deal, while Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert argued that a casino would harm individuals and families and encourage addiction.
Alcorn reinforced his position in a Jan. 18 post on X: “My cards are all on the table: NO CASINO.”
Coalition mobilizes to defeat the bill
The volunteer-driven No Fairfax Casino Coalition is organizing against SB 982. Its online petition argues that a casino would hurt local businesses, worsen traffic and public-safety concerns, reduce property values, encourage risky behavior and permanently alter the community’s character.
Coalition chair Lynne Mulston said an earlier measure, SB 675, placed a “bulls-eye for a casino directly over Tysons.”
The group had already helped oppose two similar measures. In 2024, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted 13-2 to continue SB 675 to 2025, effectively ending its prospects for that legislative session. In 2023, SB 1543 was stricken at its patron’s request on a 15-0 vote in the General Laws and Technology Committee.
SB 675, introduced by Sen. David Marsden, would also have created a path to a Fairfax County casino referendum. Comstock’s vision included a casino, hotel, conference center and arts venue. Marsden’s 2023 proposal similarly sought to permit casino gaming along the Silver Line.
Opponents identified the Gaming subcommittee’s Jan. 20 meeting at 4 p.m. as the only opportunity for public testimony on SB 982. The coalition urged supporters to act quickly ahead of the General Assembly’s Feb. 4 crossover deadline, when each chamber generally must complete work on its own legislation.
Supporters promise revenue and jobs
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell is SB 982’s chief patron. His district includes portions of Fairfax County around U.S. Route 1, Mount Vernon, Kingstowne and Lorton.
The chief co-patrons are Sens. Lamont Bagby, Todd Pillion and Stella Pekarsky. Pekarsky represents western Fairfax County and previously chaired the Fairfax County School Board. None of the bill’s patrons represents Tysons.
Supporters describe the project as an entertainment district that could create jobs, raise tax revenue and reduce the amount Virginia residents spend at Maryland casinos.
Pekarsky said Fairfax residents face rising property taxes while schools remain underfunded and teachers underpaid. She argued that an entertainment district could produce hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, ease pressure on homeowners and generate thousands of jobs.
Bagby said casino developments elsewhere in Virginia have delivered substantial revenue for priorities such as repairing aging school buildings. Pillion maintained that Virginia is losing hundreds of millions of dollars to Maryland and said revenue from the proposal could support statewide priorities while helping keep taxes down.
Surovell said passage would allow the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to begin a public process for choosing an operator and location.
Opponents dispute those promised benefits and contend that the bill’s highly specific requirements would steer the project toward Tysons, a Silver Line-connected community that Fairfax County envisions as its future downtown.