Special interests are hoping to strike it rich next year in Richmond. It's a shifting political landscape for a proposed Tysons Corner casino.
The closer you live to a proposed casino site in Fairfax County, the more likely you are to oppose it. That’s how Delegate Holly Seibold of Vienna explains her opposition to the proposed entertainment district in Tysons Corner featuring a casino.
“The constituents in my district would like their voices heard loud and clear," Seibold says. "They didn’t ask for this casino, nor do they want one.”
Last year, the proposal passed the Senate but died in the House. Next year, things might be a bit different, says Senator Dave Marsden, a longtime supporter of the casino and a senior member of the Fairfax delegation.
“I think the concern was it was an election year, and people were concerned because it was a very controversial issue in Fairfax, and they wanted to put it off for another year," Marsden says. "At least the speaker may have wanted to do that. We have reasonable confidence that this year it will get a more favorable hearing.”
That hearing might be more favorable, but it’ll definitely be after the election. And where the candidates stand on the proposed Tysons Corner casino is already becoming one of the hottest issues on the campaign trail in 2025, when all 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates will be on the ballot.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
