Virginia lawmakers decided against including a casino vote on the Nov. 7 ballot for Fairfax County, Virginia residents due to concerns over the impulsive nature of the proposal to bring a casino to the Washington D.C. metro area.
Localities are unable to conduct casino votes unless the state grants permission for a new region to be designated as a “casino host” area.
Fairfax County’s House Bill 2499 aimed to achieve that, but unfortunately, it was not successful in passing the Virginia House of Delegates Committee on General Laws.
The plan did not succeed in gaining support in the senate either. Senator David Marsden proposed a bill called SB 1543 as a collaborative effort, but he requested the Senate’s General Laws and Technology Committee to remove it from the agenda.
According to Marsden, in an interview with Matt Blitz from the Virginia Mercury, the 2025 Fairfax County bid seemed to be hurried. He further suggested that the concept requires additional research.
Despite receiving “mostly negative” feedback in general, the District 37 state Senator has the potential to reintroduce the bill in 2025.
He informed the Mercury that individuals are feeling anxious discussing such matters due to it being an election year.
Marsden’s belief in the potential value of a Fairfax County casino was initially based on the 11.4-mile mass transit expansion. The recently constructed Silver Line rail segment, which connects Reston to Loudoun County, was completed at a significant expense of $3 billion. Marsden shared with Blitz his thoughts on this matter.
I have significant worries regarding the future of Metro. The decline in ridership is alarming, and we are rapidly approaching a financial crisis in terms of how we can sustain Metro. To mitigate this, it is essential to focus on developing attractive destinations, fostering a vibrant nightlife, and establishing a diverse range of restaurants. By doing so, we can enhance the economies of both the commonwealth and Fairfax County, while also boosting ridership on the Silver Line.
What the 2025 Fairfax County casino bill looked like
In March 2019, Virginia established standards for the introduction of casinos. The Virginia General Assembly approved a law to designate Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Richmond as the five host casino cities. However, it was required for each host city to obtain local support. In 2020, the Virginia gaming industry successfully met the requirements for all four cities. Richmond, on the other hand, experienced a delay and its bid did not meet the criteria in 2021. Notably, Fairfax County was not initially included in the list of host cities.
Petersburg is attempting to recover Richmond’s fumble. However, as it was not initially designated as a casino city, a legislative modification is also required for Petersburg to proceed with a casino vote.
In the case of Fairfax County, for any bill aiming to revive a bid in 2025, it would be necessary to incorporate provisions that enable voting on casinos not only in cities but also in other localities.
One of the designated casino sites in Fairfax County is Tysons Corner, which is a thriving retail hub situated in an unincorporated district to the west of I-495 near McLean, VA.
Reston, located about nine miles west of Tysons Corner in the D.C. metro area, serves as an alternative choice. This bustling commerce hub is in closer proximity to Washington Dulles International Airport than Tysons Corner.
Viable sites for the casino were identified by John Gonzalez at WJLA-TV, which included:
- Tysons
- Wiehle-Reston East
- Reston Town Center
- Herndon and
- Innovation Center.
In 2025, a neighboring state will closely monitor the progress of any potential casino establishment in Fairfax County, Virginia. This is because a casino in this area would directly compete with Maryland’s largest casino, MGM National Harbor, which attracts gamblers from the Beltway region, situated across the Potomac River in Oxon Hill.
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