Fairfax County Supervisor Says Residents Were ‘Traumatized’ Over Tysons Casino Push
Posted on: April 16, 2026, 10:17h.
Last updated on: April 16, 2026, 10:17h.
- Fairfax County supervisors continue to express gratitude to the governor for vetoing legislation that would have allowed a casino in Tysons
- Local government officials say the casino effort “traumatized” residents
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is happy to have an unwanted casino behind them, but the local government says emotional damage was done.
During the board’s meeting this week, Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) said that the county’s residents have been “traumatized” due to Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell’s (D-Fairfax) efforts to authorize a casino resort in Tysons.
This has been a distraction. Our residents have been traumatized,” said Alcorn, as reported by FFXNow, Fairfax County’s leading local news agency.
Earlier this month, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) vetoed Senate Bill 756. The measure would have designated Fairfax County as a possible host for a commercial casino, along with Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Petersburg, and Portsmouth.
Will Casino Fight Return?
Spanberger vetoed the Fairfax casino bill, which singled out a specific property along Leesburg Pike for a casino, because, unlike the five other casino host locales, Fairfax never asked the state for a gaming designation. The first-term governor said local governments, not the state, should lead on such economic development initiatives.
Surovell, the powerful state lawmaker who authored SB756, isn’t folding on his fight to bring a Las Vegas casino to Northern Virginia. He claims such a project would deliver new, critical tax revenue to Fairfax County, keep gaming money in the commonwealth that’s currently flowing into Maryland, and create thousands of good-paying jobs.
We will be back,” Surovell said in response to Spanberger’s veto.
Fairfax County Supervisor Jimmy Bierman hopes Surovell will change his mind.
The whole process was backwards. It was nonsense. I hope it doesn’t come back,” Bierman said.
Virginia authorized commercial casinos in 2020, but only in a handful of cities. Four of those initial hosts fielded local referendums in support of gaming, but the ballot question was twice rejected by voters in Richmond. Lawmakers subsequently passed a bill to relocate the Richmond casino license about 20 miles south to Petersburg, where public support for gaming was robust.
The local governments in Roanoke and Winchester are mulling entries to the Virginia casino industry by commissioning and reviewing economic impact studies and the feasibility of a casino in their cities.
Tysons Casino
Surovell, collaborating with regional real estate developer Comstock Companies, suggested allowing a casino on the site of a former auto dealership next to the Adaire residential high-rise in Tysons. The property is situated adjacent to the Spring Hill Metro Station, which connects to Washington, DC.
Tysons is best known as a major hub for corporations, including Capital One, Hilton Hotels, Freddie Mac, and Booz Allen Hamilton.
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