$2.5M Spent By Tysons Casino Backer On Lobbyists, Donations
To date, Comstock Holdings has paid $2.5 million in its quest to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line outside I-495 in Fairfax County
Michael O'Connell, Patch Staff
Posted Wed, Jul 2, 2025 at 10:54 am ET
RESTON, VA — Twelve lobbyists were paid a total of $500,399.31 to help Comstock Hospitality Holdings in its efforts to push legislation through the 2025 General Assembly meant to pave the way for a casino to be built in Tysons.
That figure is about five times the combined total of the $52,213 that Comstock Holdings paid to five lobbyists during the 2024 legislative session. In total, Comstock spent $552,612.31 on lobbyists the past two years.
Adding that total to the $1,999,050.18 the Reston-based developer has spent on campaign contributions since 2023, Comstock Holdings has paid $2,551,662.49 in its quest to build a casino on Metro’s Silver Line outside the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County.
All lobbyists in Virginia are required by law to file financial disclosures with the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council by July 1. The following are the totals that Comstock's 12 lobbyists reported in their disclosures:
- $42,551.49 - Mindy Carlin (Michael Carlin, Cassidy Taylor)*
- $60,000 - Susan Gaston
- $49,265.66 - Matthew James
- $19,500 - David Jones
- $17,500 - David May (Alexander Macaulay)*
- $20,000 - Kathy Neilson
- $40,000 - Chris Petersen
- $12,500 - Kyle Shreve (Robert Crockett)*
- $239,081.66 -Mark Snesavage **
TOTAL: $500,399.31
* The fees paid to each of the lobbyists in parentheses were included in the financial disclosure of the adjacent lobbyists.
** Snesavage filed for a reimbursement of $60.84 for a meal that took place Jan. 14 at the Little Pearl restaurant in Washington, D.C. He listed Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton), who is a member of five Senate committees, including the Rules Committee, which she chairs.
Locke was one of the 24 senators to vote in favor of Senate Bill 982, which the Senate passed Feb. 4, 2025 on a 24-16 vote. The bill died in the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 18.
Five lobbyists Comstock Hospitality retained or employed during the 2024 legislative session filed disclosures totaling $52,213 by July 1, 2024:
- $5,000 - Robert G. Crockett of Advantas Strategies was retained on Dec. 21, 2023 to handle the administrative and legislative duties concerning Comstock Hospitality.
- $12,513 - Matthew James, a former member of the House of Delegates, was retained on Jan. 1, 2024 to handle issues concerning Comstock Hospitality.
- $20,000 - David Jones was retained on Jan 1, 2024 to handle legislative matters for Comstock
- $10,000 - Teddy Petersen of Arbor Strategies was retained on Dec. 18, 2023 to issues relating to a potential casino in Northern Virginia.
- $5,000 - Kyle Shreve of Advantas Strategies was retained on Dec. 21, 2023 to handle all executive and legislative matters relating to Comstock Hospitality.
TOTAL: $52,213
Lobbyists are required to report the names of legislative and executive officers, as well as family members, if the average value was more than $50 for each person attending.
Also See ...
Looking ahead to the 2026 legislative, Comstock Hospitality Holdings has already retained seven lobbyists: Mindy Carlin, Susan Gaston, Andrew Macaulay, David May, Chris Petersen, Mark Snesavage, and Cassidy Taylor, according to the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council. The public will need to wait until July 1, 2026, to find out how much they were compensated.
Comstock Holdings Political Donations
On Sept. 15, 2023, Comstock Holdings formed Comstock Hospitality Holdings, LLC as a limited liability company, so it is really a separate business entity rather than a PAC, according to the State Corporation Commission.
As a business entity, Comstock Hospitality doesn’t have the same filing requirements as the company’s Building a Remarkable Virginia Political Action Committee.
Although Comstock Hospitality was formed in September 2023, it did not begin making political contributions until January 2025. Between 2023 and June 30, 2025, Building a Remarkable Virginia made campaign contributions of $731,400 overall, according to VPAP. Comstock Hospitality donated a total of $898,186.18, according to campaign reports filed in the first six months of 2025. From 2023 through the first six months of 2025, Comstock CEO Christopher Daniel Clemente made $369,464 in political contributions, according to VPAP.
Comstock Holdings’s Total Expenditures For 2023-2025
- $898,186.18 - Comstock Hospitality Holdings
- $731,400 - Building a Remarkable Virginia PAC
- $369,464 - Comstock CEO Christopher Clemente
- $552,612.31 - Lobbyists
TOTAL: $2,551,662.49
This does not include the $490,000 Clemente contributed to Building a Remarkable Virginia. That money was counted as donations paid out by the PAC to candidates or their campaigns.
This story is based on campaign finance reports filed with the State Board of Elections and lobbyist disclosures reported to the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council.
Read all of Patch's reporting on Comstock Companies' plan to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.