Subcommittee advances bill allowing Fairfax County to place casino referendum on ballot

The Commerce, Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee of Appropriations voted to pass by Senate Bill 982, a measure that would allow the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to place a countywide referendum asking voters whether to permit casino gaming as part of a planned entertainment and convention complex in Tysons Corner.

Senator Suravel, who presented the bill, said the legislation “does not authorize a casino.” He told the subcommittee the bill would authorize only the local board to place a referendum on the ballot and described location and project requirements written into the bill: the project must be within a quarter mile of a Metro station, outside I‑95, include a 1,500,000‑square‑foot entertainment/convention complex and be within two miles of an enclosed mall. Suravel said the studied proposal would include a 6,000‑seat concert venue, a 4,000–5,000‑person conference center, a hotel and residential units, and he said the bill’s language would make much of Tysons Corner eligible rather than a single parcel.

The senator cited a consultant estimate that the project could generate about $1.2 billion in gross gaming revenue annually and…