Miriam Adelson funneled $4.1 million to a Texas political action committee ahead of the March primary election.
Dallas — Read more North Texas business news from this article and our partners at Dallas Business Journal=
Miriam Adelson funneled $4.1 million to a Texas political action committee ahead of the March primary election. His efforts to legalize gambling show a growing interest in Lone Star State politics.
Mr. Adelson, who is part of the Dallas Mavericks' new majority ownership group and is the head of the family that controls the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, announced on Feb. 6, according to a campaign finance report on Feb. 26. Donated to Texas Suns PAC. Her donation comes two months after her family completed the purchase of a majority stake in the Mavericks from longtime owner Mark Cuban on Dec. 27.
The Dallas Business Journal combed through February's campaign finance reports to examine the influence of Adelson and his family in next year's Congress.
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS), a casino company that generated more than $10 billion in revenue in 2023, also contributed $9,000 to the PAC between December and February. The company launched its PAC in January 2022 with initial funding of $2.3 million from Adelson.
Texas Sands PAC has spent $1.9 million supporting 35 candidates in this year's primaries, an average of about $56,000 per person, according to campaign finance reports. A Las Vegas Sands spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
House Speaker Dade Phelan received the largest donation of $200,000 in a heated state representative primary. Phelan, a Republican from Beaumont, finished second to David Covey in the primary, and the two will face a runoff in May. Mr. Farren has been at odds with far-right Republicans and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who supports Mr. Covey. Phelan supported the House's impeachment of Paxton last year.
North Texas politicians whose campaigns received funding from PACs include Rep. Frederick Frazier, who received $79,000, Rep. Justin Holland, who received $79,000, and Rep. Charlie Geren, who received $60,000. $, Rep. Benton Jones $54,000, Rep. Angie Cheng Button $29,000, and Rep. Benn. Bumgarner will get $29,000, Rep. Morgan Meyer will get $29,000 and Rep. Jeff Leach will get $15,000.
Almost all of them were Republicans, which is not surprising given that Republicans control the Texas Legislature. But Jones is a Democrat who represents parts of west, south and east Dallas.
As of late February, the PAC maintained about $2.6 million in its war chest.
The Adelsons and the Suns have spent millions of dollars on lobbying efforts in recent years. Sands hired 76 lobbyists and spent $6.7 million in Austin for the 2021 legislative session, according to the Dallas Morning News. The gambling bill was not passed.
According to Bloomberg, Sands hired 89 lobbyists last year. As of the first week of the session, the Sands had pledged more than $5.9 million to lobbyists, according to the Morning News. Again, nothing passed.
Mr. Adelson also personally donated $3,300 to support Gov. Greg Abbott's successful 2022 re-election campaign.
The Suns, Adelsons and Cuban, who maintains a 27% share of the NBA franchise and still oversees basketball operations, have floated the idea of building a resort casino in the Dallas area with a new arena at its core. .
A Sands-related company acquired 259 acres of land in Irving last summer, and while there has been speculation that it could become the home of a casino development, Sands has declined to say it has any immediate plans.
Patrick Dumont, who replaced Cuban as Mavs' governor and is also president and chief operating officer of the Suns, told investors in January that the company sees a lot of potential in Texas. “We are actively working to promote the development of integrated resorts in Texas.” States…and through the legalization of the game. ”
“We're very excited about it,” he said at the time. “We think this is an incredible market, and we hope that over time it will be. I can't say when that will be, but we as a company are in this market. We're very focused and we want the opportunity to develop.''Dallas in particular has a very unique tourism offering that we think is a great market. ”
Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details from the Texas Suns PAC's financial statements.
