Late last year, the NBA approved the sale of a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks to Sands Corporation, which operates the Las Vegas Sands Casino.
Mark Cuban has expressed support for resort gaming in Texas in the past, and the Suns' acquisition of the Mavericks would give Texas two NBA teams whose owners have ties to Las Vegas. . Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta counts the Golden Nugget as part of his portfolio.
“The Sands wouldn't have bought the Mavericks if they hadn't seen casino gambling as a future they could see and enjoy,” said SMU political science professor Cal Jillson.
The Mavericks' deal will give the Suns Corporation a 69% stake in the team, with Cuban retaining 31% and control of basketball operations. The sale is valued at just under $4 billion, according to the Dallas Morning News.
However, gambling is still illegal in Texas. Jillson said lobbyists spent more than $5 million in campaign contributions before the 2021 legislative session, but that number decreased last year.
“In 2023, we saw a little bit less spending on campaign funds and lobbyists,” he said. “If I were them, I would draw the lesson that to get my way, I need to spend more, not less.”
In addition to two of Texas' three NBA teams being owned by casino operators, Choctaw Casino and Resorts has naming rights at the former home of the Texas Rangers and is the owner of a winning team in Oklahoma. The Chickasaw Nation, which operates Star World Casino, owns Lone Star Park. In Grand Prairie.
Robert Koehler, a lobbyist and consultant for the Texas Baptist Convention Christian Life Committee, who opposes legalizing gambling in the state, said he doesn't think much of Sands Corp.'s acquisition of the Mavericks. Ta.
“It's like when Penn (National) Gaming bought Sam Houston (Race Park) or when Chickasaw (Nation) bought Lone Star (Park),” he said. “When people move around the table and get in line for the golden ticket, there are already important people in that line.”
But if gambling was legalized and arenas/casinos/resorts were built, where would it be?
“Theoretically, you could do it on the old Reunion Arena site. In theory, with the redevelopment plan for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, those areas would have that kind of That could leave enough space for development,” said Dallas Morning News architecture critic Mark. Ramster said. “Whether they appeal to Sands Corporation, which currently owns a majority of the Mavs, is another matter, because in that case they may not have control over the land.”
The Texas Legislature won't meet again until January 2025, so answers to all these questions may have to wait a year.
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