Northern Virginia casinos to end Maryland education subsidies: Lawmakers
Virginia Sen. David Marsden (D-Burke) is pushing legislation to make Fairfax County a qualified jurisdiction for commercial casinos. He believes approving a resort casino in the northern part of the state would provide much-needed economic diversification to the region.
Marsden and Del. Lane Williams (R-Stuart) supports legislation that would allow Fairfax residents to vote on casino proposals. Their legislative efforts are in partnership with commercial real estate developer Comstock Corp., which has expressed interest in building a casino along the Metro's Silver Line.
“Our industry has been closely associated with the District of Columbia my entire life,” Marsden told the Fairfax County Times this week.
The longtime state lawmaker, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 2005 and the state Senate in 2009, said a casino could revitalize the area. This comes after the pandemic caused significant damage to commercial real estate.
“We have a lot of vacant buildings. Office buildings are losing value,” Marsden explained. “The pandemic has brought subway ridership to a standstill. Our Metro funding gap is $700 million. "
Maryland Education Grant
Marsden said it’s time for Virginia to provide gambling options for northern residents and solutions to stem the flow of money to casinos in neighboring Maryland.
MGM Resorts opened a $1.4 billion integrated resort-casino in Oxon Hill across the Potomac River outside Washington, D.C., in December 2016. live! The Maryland Casino is also located 20 miles north of Washington, D.C., at 295 Baltimore-Washington Blvd. Maryland’s gambling tax primarily funds K-12 public education.
We pay for schools in Maryland, not our own," Marsden explained."We're costing MGM $150 million a year. "
MGM National Harbor is the highest-grossing commercial casino outside of Las Vegas. In 2022, the casino won approximately $884.5 million from players.
Virginia's casino law passed in 2020, leaving only five cities eligible to host casinos. Voters in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Danville and Bristol subsequently approved casino construction. Richmond is the only designated casino city to reject gambling proposals, and this has happened twice.
Not Just a Game
Marsden said the Fairfax casino will offer more than slot machines, table games and sports betting. The destination could include a convention center, which the area does not currently have.
Marsden's legislative plan has many opponents. With several local governments formally opposing casinos through ordinances, a grassroots coalition called Citizens Against Reston Casino was recently formed.
“We, the concerned residents of Reston, Virginia, strongly oppose any efforts to bring casinos to our beloved community. We believe the introduction of casinos would be detrimental to the social fabric, safety, and economy of our community,” the organization’s mission statement states. Stability and overall quality of life are negatively affected. "
The group's petition on Change.org has garnered more than 4,600 signatures.
Comstock provided ample funding for the development of the casino. The company formed a political action committee called Building Excellence in Virginia and gave it more than $250,000.
Marsden plans to reintroduce his Fairfax casino bill during the 2024 General Assembly. The session begins on the second Wednesday of January, and in 2024 will be the following Wednesday, January 10th. Since it is an even year, the session lasts 60 days (odd years only 30 days).
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Source: www.casino.org
