RICHMOND, VA — Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) introduced his long-promised casino bill on Wednesday, and it looks like Reston is not where the casino will be built, according to a media report.
Marsden, who has long said he preferred the casino being built in Tysons, told NBC4 that a particular parcel in Tysons, on the site of a “defunct auto dealership on Route 7 in Tysons,” is where a gambling venue should be located.
Language in the bill outlines the requirements for a casino, with the location being within two miles of a major shopping destination:
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“The eligible host locality described in subdivision A 6 shall be limited to a proposed site for a casino gaming establishment that is (i) located within one-quarter of a mile of an existing station on the Metro Silver Line, (ii) part of a coordinated mixed-use project development, (iii) outside of the Dulles airport flight path, (iv) within two miles of a major shopping destination containing not less than 1.5 million square feet of gross building area, and (v) outside of the Interstate 495 Beltway.”
No other information was immediately available about when the full text of Marsden’s bill will be released.
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The state senator told Patch multiple times in the last three months that he would prefer the casino being built in Tysons, although he declined to name a specific location.
Patch first broke the news in September that Comstock Holding Companies was seeking to build a casino at or near Reston station, where the company has its headquarters. Since then, Patch reported that Comstock donated more than $627,000 to political candidates in 2023, started its own political action committee to facilitate that, and hired six lobbyists to advocate for them in Richmond.
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During the 2023 session, state Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) and Del. Wren Williams (R-Stuart) introduced nearly identical bills, SB1543 and HB2499, respectively.
Language in those bills placed the casino within a quarter mile from one of Metro’s seven Silver Line Stations outside the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County. These include Tysons, Greensboro, Spring Hill, Wiehle-Reston East, Reston Town Center, Herndon, and Innovation Center. The 2023 bills also said the casino couldn’t be built anywhere in the flightpath of Washington Dulles International Airport.
Related:
Read all of Patch’s reporting on Comstock Companies’ plan to build a casino on Metro’s Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.
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