Dallas Mavericks Governor Mark Cuban and the family that controls Las Vegas Sands Corp. are betting that the Texas Legislature will one day allow voters to approve casino gaming.
The wait sale of majority stake in the Mavericks » to Miriam Adelson, the widow of Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, says the gaming company sees gaming expansion in Texas as a strong possibility, if not a certainty.
There are still considerable obstacles.
Allowing casino gaming, even the spectacular resorts envisioned by Cuban and Sands, is a tough sell in Parliament. Historically, efforts to develop the game have taken many years, sometimes decades.
Cuban likely hopes that selling a majority stake of the Mavericks to Adelson will appease wary lawmakers because she would transform herself into a local figure instead of an outsider looking to expand her business interests in the Texas market.
“While you can see the benefits of closer association with Texas for Sands and pro-gambling forces, I’m still not sure it does anything to change the fundamental obstacles that proponents of gambling have seen so far,” said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas.
“It doesn’t necessarily translate into legislative success,” he said, “but it seems to be another piece of the game in the long run and will create another center of gravity around the issue.”
Most Texans Support Casino Gambling
Polls show that most Texans support casino gaming, as well as sports betting. It’s only a matter of time, political observers say, before both are legal in Texas. The sale of the Mavericks could be a guide on this path.
“The lottery took forever to come to fruition because people had similar concerns about the nature of the game and its introduction to Texas,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, political scientist at the University of Houston. “In the same sense, casino gaming in Texas is growing steadily over time and is likely to produce an outcome that gaming advocates will want to see.”
Robert Kohler, a longtime lobbyist for the Baptist General Convention’s Christian Life Commission, said casino gaming is still a distant project. He said the issue was not addressed by elected leaders when campaigning for legislative office.
“Until you see candidates for the House or Senate at Rotary Clubs before the primaries telling people they support gambling, they’re not going to vote in the Legislature,” said Kohler, who is ready to fight against the expansion of gambling in the country. Texas.
He said the sale of the Mavericks to Adelson is similar to gaming companies buying racetracks or other entities in Texas in hopes of one day profiting, if casinos and gambling athletes are allowed in these facilities.
“This purchase is not unlike what has been done over the years, where certain gaming entities have come in and bought a seat at the table,” Kohler said. “These are rich people who want to go to the front of the line, and that doesn’t guarantee anything.”
Upcoming election season
The immediate legislative impact of the sale is partly clouded by the upcoming election period.
State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, sponsored a sprawling casino gaming bill that was introduced this year in the House. He said he didn’t know enough about the Mavericks’ situation to comment on the sale.
Geren said the overall outlook for casino gaming would be determined by the 2024 legislative elections. Incumbent lawmakers will face many challenges when the nomination period for the March 5 primaries ends later this month – this.
Once the election season is over, you’ll know the makeup of the new legislature and its impact on the expansion of gaming in Texas, Geren said.
Geren pointed out that the Senate, led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, did not get the votes for casino gaming.
With the upcoming election season underway, opponents of casino gaming in the Legislature say selling the Mavericks doesn’t change the score.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Mark Cuban or anyone else, we’re going to fight to end gambling in Texas,” said state Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano.
Patrick holds the cards
After years of futility, the push for expanded gambling in Texas saw movement during this year’s regular legislative session.
A bill that would allow mobile sports betting passed the House in a historic vote but died in the Senate. Another bill that would let voters decide destination beach resorts, long considered unpopular in the Legislative Assembly, he managed to serve in the House before dying.
Although Gov. Greg Abbott, House Speaker Dade Phelan, Republican Beaumont and a growing number of House members say they are open to resort style casino gamesthe Senate and Patrick seem unmoved.
During the regular legislative session, Patrick told the Dallas Morning News that the the votes were not there to approve sports betting or casino gaming. When asked for his personal view, he said it didn’t matter because the Senate didn’t have the votes to expand gambling in Texas.
“Patrick was a major obstacle to the advancement of the game in Texas,” Rottinghaus said. “In Texas, trying to get around the lieutenant governor is like trying to bet against the house.”
Supporters of sports betting and casino gaming are perplexed that Patrick could stand in the way of the expansion of gambling. The 73-year-old Republican’s term ends in 2026. He has indicated he is running for re-election.
“It’s dead for the next session and if Patrick runs again, casino gaming will continue to be dead,” said lobbyist and political consultant Bill Miller, who defended sports betting during the regular session of This year. “If he doesn’t run again, all bets are off.”
There could also be difficulty passing a casino gaming bill in the House. The 2024 primaries could feature more than 50 contested races that could change the makeup of the Legislature. Because gambling is rarely an issue in primary elections, it’s difficult to gauge the impact of new lawmakers — particularly conservative Republicans — entering the political scene.
The GOP primary election stakes are expected to include a backlash against incumbent House Republicans who voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton and Abbott’s slate of candidates in favor of implementing a voucher-style program in Texas.
Once the dust settles, gaming policy will join other topics for the 2025 legislative session.
The big difference compared to this year’s session: the sale of the Mavericks by Cuban to Adelson.
Play the long game
The sight of Miriam Adelson at a Mavericks home game might not be enough to make Las Vegas Sands feel more local, but it won’t hurt, observers say.
“In the long run, it’s going to be a little harder to present Sands as having 100 percent outside interest and those things matter in Texas,” Henson said of selling the Mavericks to the Sands family.
According to Forbes, Miriam Adelson and her family are worth $32 billion as of December 1.. A doctor of Israeli origin, she has led the family since the death of her husband in January 2021. Her son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, is president of Sands, owner of casinos in Singapore and Macau.
The pending deal, if finalized and approved by the NBA Board of Governors, would merge the interests of Cuban and Las Vegas Sands Corp. They both wish build a casino and arena in Dallas, if gambling is legalized in Texas.
A major sports team owned by someone interested in gaming is nothing new. The Houston Rockets are owned by Tilman Fertitta, the billionaire who controls a hotel empire including restaurants and casinos outside of Texas.
Fertitta, like others pushing for the game’s expansion, is playing the game for the long term.
Game expansion was a failure in Texas, a wealthy state with a diverse economy that doesn’t need gambling to generate additional revenue. Texas currently allows lottery, bingo, and horse and greyhound racing. Additionally, Texas has three tribal casinos licensed to operate under federal law.
Texas voters approved the constitutional amendment allowing the return of legal betting on horse racing in 1987. They then voted to legalize the state lottery in 1991. Both measures were passed by a majority of 2 to 1.
Sands is in for a long fight, officials said.
At the start of this year’s regular session in Austin, they hired at least 63 lobbyists, more than any other company or entity. The company has agreed to pay its lobbyists up to $5.9 million this year, according to data from the Texas Ethics Commission.
The company also contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature.
It’s unclear whether the complex-style game will build on the momentum it’s seen this year, even if it’s a losing effort.
“We still have work to do,” Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, said on Sunday’s edition of Lone Star Politics, a politics show produced by KXAS-TV (NBC5) and The Dallas Morning News.
“We’ve gone much further than ever before,” she added, noting that Geren’s bill for resort-style casinos, including at least two in North Texas, received 92 votes. It took 100 to force a public vote on the issue.
“The people at Sands and others in the gaming industry have been investing in Texas for several years now,” Alvarado said. “I know they’re going to continue this investment and I’m going to continue to do my part in the legislative process.”
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