Fairfax County Supervisors Have Differing Opinions on Tysons Casino
Posted on: December 3, 2025, 07:48h.
Last updated on: December 3, 2025, 07:48h.
- Legislation is expected again in Virginia to designate Fairfax County for a casino
- Most residents oppose the gaming push
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is struggling to find a consensus regarding ongoing casino talks in Tysons or somewhere else in the affluent Northern Virginia suburbs.
Casinos in Virginia are limited to cities designated by statute. Currently, only Portsmouth, Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, and Petersburg can have facilities with slot machines, live dealer table games, and sports betting.
Efforts in the General Assembly to add a sixth casino jurisdiction in Fairfax County have been led for several sessions by Sen. David Marsden (D-Fairfax). Marsden is expected to reignite his push to qualify Fairfax for a casino in 2026, with Tysons the likely designation.
Being an even-numbered year, the Virginia Assembly’s 2026 long session runs two months from Jan. 14 through March 14.
New Tax Activity
Marsden says the county needs new tax revenue, as the pandemic forever changed work-life arrangements for some of the many Fortune 500 companies headquartered there.
Marsden also believes the region is no longer attractive for younger people relocating to the Washington, DC, metro. It’s one of the reasons ridership on the Washington Metro Silver Line has underwhelmed.
“Fairfax County has become a place where it’s not particularly appealing to young people in their 20s and 30s. They’re very much behind the casino concept,” Marsden said in May on The Politics Hour.
Casino Consensus
There’s a big problem standing in Marsden’s way of bringing a casino to Northern Virginia — most residents don’t want Las Vegas in Tysons or anywhere else in the region. While some unions and trade groups have embraced the push, no homeowners, community, or civic organization has come out in support of gambling.
The opposition has repeatedly called on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to more strongly voice its opposition to Marsden’s bills. While the supervisors have said they too generally oppose a casino, they’re reluctant to formally address the matter in the board’s annual submission of priorities to the General Assembly.
Each December, the board submits its priorities to its state delegates and senators. Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) has proposed text to encourage the state lawmakers to oppose any bill that would allow a casino in Fairfax County.
Oppose legislation in the General Assembly that authorizes a casino in Fairfax County without any request for such legislation from the Board of Supervisors… The designation and location of a casino is inherently a major land use decision, and General Assembly intervention in Fairfax County’s land use processes would undermine decades of community consensus and economic success,” Alcorn’s proposed text reads.
Other supervisors, including Chair Jeff McKay, say the casino matter should take a back seat to more pressing issues facing the county.
McKay believes addressing a casino could overshadow his contention that the state has failed to properly support counties. Bringing a casino discussion to Richmond might entice some elected officials from other parts of the state to get behind Marsden’s crusade to force a casino on Fairfax County voters instead of increasing county funding on the state level.
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