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A group of ex-spies says a proposed casino in Tysons, Virginia could create a national security threat.
Virginia lawmakers are widely expected to support new legislation to bring the controversial casino to the suburban DC location.
This past February, Virginia’s Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee rejected legislation allowing for a referendum on a casino in Tysons. State Sen. Louise Lucas, the committee chair, who calls herself the “Casino Queen,” kept the door open for the legislation to be reconsidered in the new session of the Virginia General Assembly. And that's exactly what's happening now.
109 national security leaders – including 57 former CIA officials, two former members of the U.S. Congress, and 18 former Defense Department officials – sent a letter to the Virginia General Assembly and Gov. Glenn Youngkin, admonishing the casino plan as “an unacceptable health and national security hazard, whose socioeconomic costs significantly outweigh any short-term increase in revenue.”
The letter’s signatories include a network of retirees who have held top-secret security clearances at national security agencies, contractors, and the U.S. military, living in Fairfax County and nearby, holding senior positions at the State Department, Defense Department, Justice Department, and in the intelligence community. They said they have “acute concern” about a casino at Tysons “within walking or easy driving distance for tens of thousands of federal employees, civilian defense and intelligence contractors, and U.S. military personnel,” whose security clearances could be threatened with the widening societal problem of gambling addictions.
“The views of 109 experts in the intelligence community will be an important consideration in my analysis of the casino proposal,” said Senator Barbara Favola, a member of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. “Many public and private organizations in the NoVA region are dedicated to protecting our national security and their research and development efforts support a robust economy in our region. Moreover, national security experts have unique insights into the correlation of gambling addictions, the cultivation of cybersecurity hackers and other negative associations, and how a community could become a risk to those entrusted to protect the security of our nation and our allies.”
“I understand that one of my colleagues will be introducing a bill to put a casino in Northern Fairfax County again in the 2025 session,” added Senator Jennifer Boysko, also a member of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. “My constituents are firmly in opposition, and I will continue to oppose it because all of the elected officials in this portion of Fairfax County oppose it.” She noted dozens of homeowner associations and civic groups oppose the planned casino.
“Additionally, Fairfax County has not requested to have this initiative,” Boysko said. “In every other instance where we approved allowing a referendum for a casino, it has been at the request of the locality.”
Civic groups, including the “No Fairfax Casino” coalition, have opposed the proposal to build the casino, holding a public meeting in late October, saying the casino would cause an increase in crime and traffic.
