Virginia senator gambles on casino proposal, but challenges loom
Could Tysons be ready to roll the dice on building a major casino?
A top state senator says he’s ready to go "all in" on the idea which, if approved, could shuffle the casino landscape in the DMV.
But there are still some wildcards to sort out over things like location and traffic.
It’s not the first time Virginia State Senator David Marsden of Fairfax has proposed trying to get a casino in northern Virginia, but this time he says he thinks the idea has momentum and could be an economic jackpot for the area.
The proposed location for the casino would be an empty car dealership near the Spring Hill Station metro. But it wouldn't just be a casino.
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Senator revives plan for casino in wealthy northern Virginia
With casinos popping up on Virginia’s southern border, some lawmakers now want to explore whether wealthy northern Virginia should get in on the action.
The proposal includes a convention center, a concert hall, a hotel, and other amenities. Development in Tysons has boomed since the Silver Line opened – and many folks told FOX they’re all in on this idea.
Virginia already has 3 casinos, but they’re way down in Portsmouth, Bristol, and Danville – hours away from northern Virginia.
Sen. Marsden told FOX 5 that NOVA is leaving money on the table by not having a casino – just across the Potomac from D.C. and Maryland. But the county supervisor says there are important details to work out.
"We’re going to have to compete," Sen. Marsden said. "We’re going to have to replace revenue for folks and anytime you have revenue from folks, from people who are choosing to do an activity rather than living off their house, that is the new order of the world."
"Questions do remain around revenue: Where it would be, how it would be used? Where would it go? How will the site selection happen and what the outreach would be?" Fairfax County District Supervisor Dalia A. Palchik said.
Under the proposal, voters in Fairfax County would get to decide if a casino goes ahead, and the Fairfax County supervisors would have a say on where it goes. But politically – there’s no such thing as a sure thing because recent gambling referendums in Manassas and Richmond were rejected by voters in November.