A push to get a casino built in Fairfax County has stalled in the Virginia General Assembly, but Jeff McKay, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, said the issue is likely far from over.
“I appreciate that it’s dead,” McKay said, before adding a significant caveat.
“I think it will come up again,” he continued. “I do think it’ll come back, and if it doesn’t come back with a substantially better revenue share that’s worth even looking at, then we will just fight it like we’ve had to do this time.”
Legislation that could have paved the way for a casino in the Tysons area passed the Senate in a 24-16 vote but ultimately stalled in the House of Delegates.
Supporters argued a casino would generate significant tax revenue for both Fairfax County and the state. Opponents said it would conflict with comprehensive development plans for Tysons that have already been established by local officials.
“We said from the beginning that we didn’t ask for this,” said McKay, who called the proposal a “bad financial deal for Fairfax County.”
“I think they just thought they had a good idea and were going to work around us,” he said. “Clearly, what the community has been saying is that local folks here were not consulted on this. That’s a bad precedent to set, and I think it’s one of the major reasons why the bill failed.”
The idea of bringing a casino to Fairfax County has been raised in the General Assembly before.
This time, it was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, who envisioned more than just a casino. He wanted a large-scale entertainment complex that would include a hotel, concert venue and convention center.
“It would generate hundreds of millions in tax revenue for both the Commonwealth and Fairfax County,” Surovell said.
Surovell has pushed for casino expansion in Virginia since 2016, when the MGM National Harbor Hotel and Casino opened just across the state line in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
“It’s always really disturbed me that that thing was plopped right there to suck money out of our state that should be remaining in the state, helping to pay for schools and services,” Surovell said. “About one-third of it is being funded by Virginia residents going into Maryland.”
Had the legislation passed, it would have given the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors the authority to put the casino proposal to a local referendum, allowing voters to decide.
McKay, however, said that if that had happened, he would have had the authority to prevent it from moving forward.
“I’ll go further and say if the legislation had passed, there is no chance our board would have sent this to a referendum,” McKay said. “I think that’s that other point that was lost on folks.”
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