Surovell’s Casino Bill Clears Senate Gaming Subcommittee 5-3

Sen. Scott Surovell, chief patron of SB 756, says there are a number of doable websites for a on line casino in Tysons.

State lawmakers on Jan. 23 moved to advance a Tysons-area on line casino invoice regardless of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ current vote in opposition to the venture. The Senate General Laws Gaming Subcommittee’s 5-3 vote adopted the advice to report Senate Bill  SB 756 and refer it to the Finance and Appropriations Committee. This units the stage for a high-stakes legislative battle this session.

Voting “aye” had been senators Lashrecse Aird, D-Chesterfield; Todd Pillion, R-Washington; Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William; Bryce Reeves, R-Orange; and Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William. Voting “no,” Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria; Christopher Head, R-Botetourt; and Danica Roem, D-Manassas.

SB 756 would add Fairfax County to the checklist of localities eligible to host a on line casino within the commonwealth. Chaired by McPike, the subcommittee’s vote begins the method towards a doable referendum although the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 5-4 to oppose the invoice on Dec. 9, 2025.

The 5-4 vote by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors supported a proposal from Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn to oppose on line casino laws till a majority of supervisors requests it and a number of other different standards.

“Fairfax County’s legislative position on a casino is clear,” Alcorn mentioned in an electronic mail to The Connection on Jan. 21. “We oppose any bill to bring a casino to Tysons without the Board of Supervisors requesting it, as explicitly stated in our adopted state legislative program. Tysons is the economic engine of Fairfax County, and a casino would undermine the ambitious and award-winning Tysons Comprehensive Plan.”

Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) framed SB 756 as a solution to deal with Fairfax County’s projected $300 million funds hole and cease tons of of hundreds of thousands in playing {dollars} from flowing to Maryland’s MGM National Harbor. “The county is looking at a $300 million deficit, while Loudoun County, right next door, with 40% of the population, has a $300 or $250 million surplus,” Surovell mentioned. “This would not only generate about $200 million a year for the county … it would also generate about $2 billion per decade for the state for school construction.”

Because of particular geographical necessities within the textual content — inside one-quarter mile of an current Silver Line Metro station, a part of a improvement of no less than 1.5 million sq. toes, outdoors the Capital Beltway and inside 2 miles of a serious regional mall — the measure is broadly understood to be a “Tysons casino” invoice. However, Surovell made clear SB 756 targets “multiple” Tysons websites. “There’s two sites right now that are currently, I think, assembled, that could be possible for this,” he mentioned.

Final passage of the present invoice doesn’t mechanically approve the development of a on line casino. What passage of SB 756 would do is grant Fairfax County the authority to carry a neighborhood referendum. Voters within the county would have the ultimate say. The measure, an identical to the 2025 model, would nonetheless require Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approval and a neighborhood referendum, based on Surovell.

Pro-casino Testimony 

Pro-casino advocates testified that it will create hundreds of union jobs. “For workers in Northern Virginia who are struggling to get by in low-wage jobs, this is an opportunity to create thousands of jobs that can lift people up,” mentioned Mike Hashi of UNITE HERE. Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia Labor Federation, added that “working-class residents of Fairfax County deserve the right to have a vote.”

Opposition Testimony

Opponents countered that Fairfax by no means requested for a on line casino and that putting one in Tysons would upend years of native planning. “Fairfax County stands in opposition, largely due to … the usurping of the local land use authority,” mentioned Jennifer Van Dyck, representing Fairfax County.

Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert added, “Fairfax County did not ask permission to build a casino. We do not want it.”

Calls for Further Study and  Alternatives

Jennifer Falcone, of the Citizens for Great Falls and the No Fairfax Casino Coalition, mentioned SB 756 shouldn’t transfer ahead with out an impartial JLARC research. Reena Hicks, of Freedom, Virginia, insisted lawmakers ought to discover fairer methods to lift income, noting that analysis reveals over 70% of individuals in Fairfax would like to ask the ultra-wealthy and companies to pay their fair proportion.