Should Surovell’s bill be made into law, I’d wager a ton of Benjamins that Fairfax County voters will soundly reject it, columnist Roger Chesley writes.
Scott Surovell, the state Senate majority leader and a Fairfax County Democrat, won’t take “no” for an answer when fighting for his county to host a casino.
Not from local and state elected officials – even in his own party – who hate the idea. They include the county Board of Supervisors, which voted narrowly against authorizing a casino in Tysons Corner, where legislation to site a gaming center has failed previously. State legislators who represent parts of the county also have voted against the latest proposal.
Not from county voters, either. A new poll shows they overwhelmingly reject a casino anywhere in Fairfax County; 63% said they don’t want it. (Surovell’s current legislation, SB756, would allow the casino anywhere in Fairfax, but Tysons Corner – an entertainment-retail area – remains the likely destination.)
The No Fairfax Casino Coalition counts 40 homeowner, business and other organizations in its ranks. The members represent a sizable number of Fairfax’s nearly 1.2 million residents.
Nor is Surovell chastened by economic forecasts. A consultant just told county officials, for example, that although a Fairfax casino could produce $62 million in local and state taxes annually, those numbers are much more conservative than a potential developer’s figures, FFXnow.com reported, citing a feasibility study.
Note to local governments: Be very suspicious of statistics provided by someone who has a stake in a project’s outcome.
The senator has said the county needs other streams of revenue. If linked to a convention center, Surovell told me, the casino could be a boon to the area. Other elected leaders, however, contend a casino is a poor choice to capture that money.
“The Fairfax County tax base is not healthy,” Surovell told me Sunday, while on the road headed back to Richmond. The majority leader contends a 60-year strategy in the county of relying on commercial office space is in jeopardy because that sector “is reeling.”
He also wants to redirect some of the dollars now gobbled up by the huge MGM National Harbor casino just across the Maryland line, right off Interstate 495. A potential Tysons Corner casino would be about 20 miles away.
It’s smart to go after those dollars, though it’s questionable whether Virginians or Marylanders hold loyalty to state above their preference of slot machines and table games.
Casino critics say Surovell’s proposal is unnecessary and doesn’t acknowledge the drawbacks of hosting a gaming site, including traffic congestion, crime and gambling addiction.
“This narrative that you hear over and over again that Fairfax County needs a casino to survive and thrive is just wrong,” Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax, said at a news conference last month.
“Tysons’ office-vacancy rate actually declined in 2025,” he added. “It’s now at 20%, which is below the Washington, D.C., metro area.”
Sen. Jennifer Boysko, another Fairfax Democrat, said the county economy is robust. Besides, “The more (casino) facilities we have around the commonwealth, the less likely that one is going to draw in massive amounts of money.”
Nor is there a groundswell among residents clamoring to host a casino, Lynne Mulston, chair of the No Fairfax Casino Coalition, told me. “This bill continues to serve a very narrow set of private interests and not the broader community,” she said.
Besides Surovell, the biggest proponent of a Fairfax casino is Comstock Holding Companies and its chief executive officer, Christopher Clemente.
The real estate developer has made no secret of his desire to spearhead a casino in Fairfax. Patch.com reported last year that Clemente had already spent $2.5 million on lobbyists and campaign donations to legislators in his quest.
It’s no coincidence that Surovell has received at least $324,000 from Comstock and its related entities since 2023, according to VPAP.org. They are among his largest contributors over that period.
Surovell told me that’s unsurprising, since he’s been a consistent supporter of gambling – including casino gaming – since he entered the General Assembly in 2010.
That’s one way to look at it. The other is he’s carrying water for Clemente.
Casinos now operate in five localities around Virginia: Bristol, Danville, Petersburg, Portsmouth and Norfolk, which has an interim facility. Sen. Louise Lucas, the Portsmouth Democrat who long advocated gaming for Portsmouth and other struggling communities, deemed it a way for places with limited sources of revenue to bolster themselves.
Fairfax, though, has much more wealth among its residents than the localities with casinos. The median household income in Fairfax is over $153,000, more than double the figure in the five communities with casinos. Fairfax’s 6% poverty rate is a fraction of those with them.
That doesn’t mean casinos should be limited to places where the economics are tough. In fact, it’s elitist and NIMBY-ism to think that.
When there’s plenty of local opposition, however, why force casino gaming on a community? Richmond voters twice rejected bringing casino gaming to their city, the second time by a large margin in late 2023. Would-be casino developers spent a whopping $10 million on the failed campaign.
The Senate has passed Surovell’s latest bill. A similar version is wending its way through the House of Delegates and passed the Appropriations Committee last week.
Even if the General Assembly approves the legislation and it’s signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, county voters would get to weigh in through a referendum before a casino could break ground.
I like casinos. I’ve gambled in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Delaware and Virginia over the decades, most recently at Rivers Casino Portsmouth. I go in knowing I probably will be a net loser. I consider it a few hours of entertainment.
There’s also this cautionary lesson, from a 2021 report on casinos by Old Dominion University, which I’ve cited previously: “Experience in the gambling industry shows that, after the novelty has worn off, casino revenue tends to plateau, if not outright decline.”
Facts like that aren’t lost on people who oppose casinos and say the costs outweigh the benefits.
Should Surovell’s bill be made into law, I’d wager a ton of Benjamins that Fairfax County voters will soundly reject it.