Tysons Corner Casino Would Pose National Security Risk, Intelligence Community Says

^{Virginia Senate Maj. Leader Scott Surovell wants to see a casino in Fairfax. The CIA is telling him, no. (Image: Steve Helber / AP)}

Whenever a casino is proposed anywhere in the United States, there is local opposition – usually concerned with the negative consequences of gambling – facing off against those who tout the economic benefits of building a new resort. But a proposed casino in Tysons Corner, Virginia is facing a unique criticism: that it could compromise America’s national security. 

Tysons Corner, also known simply as Tysons, is a census-designated place located in Fairfax County, Virginia.

National Security Concerns Complicate Casino Debate

Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax County) has been pushing for a referendum to build a casino in the Tysons area. Local officials see the casino as a potential way to deal with budget deficits, and Surovell himself wants to stop Northern Virginia residents from heading to nearby casinos in Maryland.

“Ever since they built the MGM casino across the river from my house, I’ve watched hundreds of millions of dollars from Virginia money go there and pay for their schools,” Surovell told WUSA 9, referring to the MGM National Harbor in Maryland. “I think it’s outrageous.”

Local group No Fairfax Casino has come out against the plan, listing several issues it has with the idea of local resort gaming in the area.

“We know now that most people in Fairfax County do not want to see a casino in Fairfax County,” Tracy McCarty of No Fairfax Casino told WUSA 9. “It will lower property values. It will encourage risky behavior. It will cause public safety concerns. It will forever change the character of the community around us.”

Last week, more than 100 individuals with national security experience added the latest criticism of the casino: a concern that local gambling options could compromise intelligence and government officials in the Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia areas.

Letter: Foreign Intelligence Would Take Advantage of Casino Location

The main issue would be the potential for those with access to classified documents building up gambling debts, which could in turn make them vulnerable to blackmail threats – or promises to relieve their financial difficulties in turn for top secret information.

“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,” read a letter written by the group National Security Leaders for Fairfax.

Tysons Corner is located less than 10 miles from CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The FBI is based in Washington D.C., while the National Security Agency is just over the border in Fort Meade, Maryland. 

“With the Washington D.C. area having the greatest concentration of the most sensitive security clearances in the country, we urge you to immediately and categorically reject the proliferation of gambling establishments in Northern Virginia,” the leader states.

A new casino in Tysons would add to the growing number of casino options in the state of Virginia. Last week marked the grand opening of Caesars Virginia in Danville, while voters in Petersburg overwhelmingly approved the development of a casino in a November referendum.