by Michael O’Connell, December 16th, 2024 at Patch.com

TYSONS, VA — A plan to build a casino in Tysons poses a needless threat to national security, according to a letter signed by 109 former senior members of the defense industry and intelligence community, as well former government officials and members of Congress.

“We raise our acute concern about a possible casino at Tysons,” the letter says. “Within a ten-minute drive or less to such an establishment is a population of over 20,000 federal employees working at our most sensitive national security organizations: the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.”

In addition, the casino that Comstock Holding Companies has said it wants to build along Metro’s Silver Line in Tysons would be in close proximity to vital defense and intelligence contractors, such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Leidos, Raytheon, BAE, CACI, ManTech, Booz Allen, and MITRE.

Gambling debts and problems can make defense industry and intelligence workers vulnerable to blackmail threats, leading to security leaks, the opponents said.

“We can confidently advise you that this population probably represents the highest concentration of federal, civilian, and military employees with the most sensitive security clearances in the United States, with access to the nation’s most critical intelligence and defense information,” the letter says.

On Monday, the letter was emailed to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, all members of both houses of the Virginia General Assembly and members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors by the group National Security Leaders for Fairfax, Patch has learned.

Board Chair Jeff McKay (D-At-Large) responded to the letter, thanking them for sending it to him, according to a spokesman. He reiterated that his position on the casino has not changed. He did not support the bill as previously submitted because it would likely result in strong community opposition to the future referendum.

“While we understand the Commonwealth’s desire to collect additional state tax revenue from residents of Northern Virginia, we do not believe our residents would accept the revenue share prescribed in current statute and in the pending legislation,” McKay wrote in a letter to Virginia’s legislative leaders in January. “As the law stands today, the Commonwealth would receive over 70 percent of the gaming tax revenue generated by a Fairfax County casino. This is especially relevant given the fact that the location outlined in the bill has the potential to generate significant local tax revenue without a casino.”

Patch first reported in 2023 that Comstock Holding Companies, the Reston-based developer, was seeking to build a casino somewhere on the Silver Line. The company and its allies have spent more than $2 million on campaign contributions to local and general assembly candidates to advance the casino referendum bill.

“The Board of Supervisors has made clear that the proposed casino bill is a bad idea for Fairfax County that we aren’t interested in,” said Dranesville Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, who represents the area where many of intelligence and defense-related offices are located. “My hope is that our legislators will end this distraction and get back to key county priorities, like properly funding our schools, investing in our transportation infrastructure, and providing local governments with the authority and flexibility to solve problems.”

Patch reached out to the two legislators who represent the Tysons area in Richmond for comment.

“As of now, no bill has been introduced in the General Assembly for next year regarding a casino in Fairfax County,” Sen. Saddam Salim (D-Fairfax) said, in an email. “My office has been closely monitoring this matter and will provide updates as the legislative session unfolds if needed. During the 2024 legislative session, my office received input from local elected officials, hundreds of constituents, and local groups representing thousands of residents in the Tysons area regarding casino legislation. After careful deliberation, I made the decision to oppose SB675, primarily due to the overwhelmingly negative sentiment expressed by constituents towards the proposal.

“As an elected representative of the 37th district, I am committed to upholding the interests of my constituents and will not support legislation that they overwhelmingly oppose. Consequently, unless I hear overwhelmingly from my constituents in the other direction, I do not intend to support casino legislation for Fairfax County going forward.”

Del. Holly Seibold (D-Vienna) expressed similar sentiments: “As far as I am aware, a bill has not been filed for a casino in Tysons. If one ends up being filed, I will not support it. My position remains unchanged from last session.”

The letter from the former intelligence and defense leaders argues that guidance issued by the Director of National Intelligence identifies gambling as grounds for disqualifying the hiring of anyone who is “borrowing money or engaging in significant financial transactions to fund gambling or pay gambling debts;” and “concealing gambling losses, family conflict, or other problems caused by gambling.”

In addition, a Defense Technical Information Center report identified excessive gambling as a “relatively common failing that may lead to serious security problems.” Based on unclassified data, the report also notes “financial pressures from gambling debts played a significant role in motivating at least seven Americans to sell classified U.S. government information to the Soviet Union.”

“The proximity of a Tysons casino to a significant population of government, military, and contract officials with access to highly secretive government intelligence, diplomatic, and defense information will not only attract organized crime — casinos always do — but also adversarial intelligence services looking to recruit those with such access whom they hope to blackmail,” the letter says.

“The authors of this letter point out some real concerns that we need to be mindful of, and I’m hopeful that my colleagues will understand why just plopping a casino in this area is the wrong place to put one,” said Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon). “I’m glad that the people who wrote it sent it to everyone. They will perhaps have yet another reason to see that this is not thought out very well.”

A vocal opponent of the casino legislation, Boysko was a member of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations that voted in February to hold over Senate Bill 675 to the 2025 legislative session. She also hosted community meetings to share information about the casino legislation.

“We had close to 300 people who were all there saying, ‘No, this is not an appropriate place to put a casino, in the heart of our economic district,’ as this letter points out, “in a place that could make our national security more vulnerable, because people could be blackmailed,” she said.

Although Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) introduced the two previous casino referendum bills during the 2023 and 2024 general assembly sessions, a spokesman on his staff told Patch on Dec. 10 that Marsden was no longer planning to introduce the bill.

Instead, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon) will carry the legislation this time.

In an email to Patch on Monday, Surovell confirmed that he was carrying the casino legislation this session. “It will have a referendum,” he said, adding that he was still working on the rest.

Prefiling of bills for the 2025 legislative session began on July 15 and will end at 10 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2025, which is when the general assembly convenes in Richmond. The last day for legislators to introduce bills and certain joint resolutions is Friday, Jan. 17.