Reston Patch’s Michael O’Connell recently shared the results of the news outlet’s online survey regarding a proposed casino in Fairfax County:
Of the 917 people who responded to Patch’s unscientific, online survey last week, 816 (89 percent) said they would not support a casino being built at the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station. Only 81 people (8.8 percent) said they would support a casino there, while 20 (2.2 percent) said they might.
Respondents voted in nearly identical numbers when asked whether they supported a casino at any of the seven Silver Line stations — Tysons, Greensboro, Spring Hill, Wiehle-Reston East, Reston Town Center, Herndon, and Innovation Center — outside the Capital Beltway.
O’Connell noted that Senator David Marsden (D-Burke) is a driving force behind the casino idea:
Marsden told Patch at the end of September that he would likely reintroduce his bill during the next General Assembly session in January, if he is reelected in November. Marsden and Republican Mark Vafiades are on the Nov. 7 ballot in the District 35 race.
Lending credence to Reston Station becoming the future home of a casino was the fact that Comstock CEO Christoper Clemente and his father-in-law Dwight Schar were hosting fundraisers for Marsden, Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Alexandria), and House Minority Leader Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) at Reston Station.