Las Vegas Sands majority shareholder Miriam Adelson is betting big on Texas in the hopes that the state will give her a big run for her soon, and last night her campaign scored a major victory.
In one of the most closely watched primary races this session, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan defeated his opponent, David Covey, by 366 votes. As the official Republican candidate in a Republican-dominated district, Phelan is all but certain to return to his seat next session. Adelson was Phelan’s largest financial backer in the race.
The win also has real estate implications: Adelson, who owns a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks along with his son-in-law, Sands president Patrick Dumont, would be well-positioned to develop a massive casino complex around the Mavericks’ arena if Texas legalizes gambling resorts.
The Suns flooded the nation’s capital with lobbyists and donors during the last legislative session, and while their efforts failed, the group shows no signs of slowing down, while sports teams across the country use their stadiums as anchors for mixed-use developments.
Adelson and her political action committee have contributed about $850,000 collectively to Phelan’s reelection campaign, more than any other donor. Adelson personally contributed $50,000 to the campaign, and Texas Sands PAC, the committee that led the effort to legalize resort casinos in Texas during the last Congress, has given another $315,000.
The check from Texas Sands alone was the third-largest donation to Phelan’s campaign, but Adelson has used the committee to support a number of other candidates, pumping $4.1 million into the committee in February.
Still, Phelan is the top recipient of campaign contributions from the Texas Suns, receiving $115,000 more than the runner-up, Lt. Governor (and Phelan’s opponent) Dan Patrick.
Then there’s the Texas Defense PAC, which Adelson gave $9 million to in May 2024. That month, the PAC gave Phelan $480,747, spread across 11 donations ranging from a few thousand dollars to $114,000.
Adelson has donated heavily to Phelan’s campaign, making him one of the state’s richest politicians. He is the second-highest-funded and second-highest-spending politician in the state this election, behind Gov. Greg Abbott. In total, Phelan has raised $9.35 million and spent nearly $12.7 million.
Only the Republican State Leadership Committee came close to Adelson’s contribution, giving $750,000. Phelan’s major real estate donors included the Texas Association of Realtors PAC, which gave $175,336, and the Texas Builders Association PAC, which gave $90,000. Dallas-Fort Worth real estate tycoons Ross Perot Jr. and Harlan Crow each gave $75,000.
When Adelson and his associates bought a majority stake in the Mavericks last year, co-owner Mark Cuban made it clear that his experience building casinos would be important.
Cuban told the news outlet that the appeal of resort casinos goes beyond gambling.
“To be honest, I don’t really care about sports betting,” Cuban said. “When you look at the resorts and casinos, the casino portion is very small compared to the larger tourist destination aspect of it. Can you imagine building the Venetian in Dallas, Texas? That would change everything.”
If casino resorts become legal, Adelson has plenty of space to begin construction. When she and the Dumont family bought their stake in the Mavericks, a limited liability company with ties to the Sands Corp. bought more than 12 acres from Cuban near the American Airlines Center, the Mavericks’ home stadium. The company also bought about 200 acres near the site of the old Texas Stadium in Irving.
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Last year, Phelan came out in favor of destination casinos in Texas, saying he would specifically like to see casinos that are anchors in larger real estate developments.
“I want to see a quality, destination casino that creates jobs and enhances the lifestyle of the area,” Phelan said, “with hotels, concert venues, golf courses and other things that will be a major economic driver.”
A bill aimed at allowing casinos to be attached to hotels, shops and entertainment districts was defeated last session.
Thanks to $850,000 and 366 votes, the Texas Suns are poised for even more success next year.
