LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 25: Mark Cuban attends a basketball game between the Los Angeles … [+]
Mark Cuban’s blockbuster sale of his majority ownership stake in the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson and the Dumont family is shaking up the sports world. In a joint statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Adelson and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont, president and COO of Las Vegas Sands
LVS
Once agreed upon and finalized by the NBA Board of Governors, the deal, which has an estimated valuation in the range of $3.5 billion, has potentially far-reaching ramifications beyond basketball considerations. The purchase of a majority stake in the Mavericks appears to be the latest effort by Adelson, Dumont and the Las Vegas Sands to influence Texas lawmakers to support legislation that would legalize sports betting and casino-style gambling in the state.
Before the 2023 legislative session in Austin, Cuban was already talking about a potential partnership with the Las Vegas Sands. Long interested in building a new venue to house the Mavericks, he told The Dallas Morning News that he envisioned any new arena as a centerpiece of a large Las Vegas-style casino and resort complex in December 2022.
“My goal, and we’d partner with Las Vegas Sands, is when we build a new arena, it’ll be in the middle of a resort and casino,” Cuban said. “That’s the mission.”
At the same time, efforts by Adelson and Las Vegas Sands, among others, were well underway to build support in Austin for legislation to legalize gambling and approve the construction of casino resorts in major Texas cities. The Las Vegas Sands political action committee, funded by Adelson, gave more than $2 million to political campaigns in the state in 2022. It also hired 89 lobbyists to work in Texas.
Their efforts and spending have gained some headway within the legislature and among top-ranking Texas officials. Bills aimed at legalizing gambling had bipartisan support, something uncommon in modern Texas politics, and Governor Greg Abbott, to whom Adelson donated $1 million in 2022, and House Speaker Dade Phelan expressed a willingness to consider approving legislation that opened the door for casinos to operate.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam arrive prior to a speech … [+]
Adelson is carrying the torch of her late husband, Sheldon Adelson, who first targeted Texas. The Adelsons, GOP mega-donors who were President Donald Trump’s most significant financial backers during the 2016 presidential campaign, donated $4.5 million in September 2020 to a Texas account affiliated with the Republican State Leadership Committee to help preserve GOP control of the state House for the 2021 legislative session.
During that session, Las Vegas Sands had at least 10 lobbyists roaming the Capitol halls advocating for casino gambling legislation in Texas. In the lead-up to the session, Andy Abboud, the top lobbyist for Las Vegas Sands at the time, spoke about Texas becoming a world-class destination for casino gambling and the benefits that gaming could bring to the state.
“We view Texas as a worldwide destination and one of the top potential markets in the entire world,” Abboud said during a conference hosted by the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. “Texas is considered the biggest plum still waiting to be out there in the history of hospitality and gaming.”
Despite the millions the Adelsons and Las Vegas Sands have poured into the state, legalized gambling still faces significant hurdles. Legislation they supported didn’t get very far in 2021 or 2023. While some elected officials may be more open to gambling in Texas, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick remains an ardent detractor. As the president of the Texas Senate, he has the power to kill any legislation that would legalize gambling in his chamber. He did just that earlier this year.
“I’ve said repeatedly there is little to no support for expanding gaming from Senate GOP,” Patrick wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in May. “I polled members this week. Nothing changed. The Senate must focus on issues voters expect us to pass. We don’t waste time on bills without overwhelming GOP support. HB1942 won’t be referred.”
Even if Patrick eventually relents and gambling legislation is no longer dead on arrival in the Senate, it would still require two-thirds of legislators in the House and Senate to approve it before it would get sent to voters for approval. Doing so does carry risks for lawmakers, however. Passing gambling legislation would potentially anger the influential evangelical Christian community that supports many GOP politicians.
“Obviously, it’s got to pass the Legislature, and I’m not the politician to know all the elements there. But you’re talking about billions of dollars in revenue,” Cuban told The Dallas Morning News last year. “And it won’t be one of those things, I don’t think, where you ask the city and state for concessions. It’s more about, ‘This is going to generate a ton of revenue.’”
Cuban accomplished his goal of partnering with Las Vegas Sands, tying the parties together for the long haul. The Mavericks’ 30-year lease at the American Airlines Center expires on July 28, 2031. That gives Cuban, Adelson, Dumont and Las Vegas Sands seven years to try and overcome stiff legislative challenges and opposition to realize their dreams of a new arena in Dallas and legalized gambling in Texas.
“The goal is to win and to have a team that proudly represents the greater DFW area and serves as a strong and valuable member of the local community,” Adelson and the Dumont family said in their statement. “We believe that with this partnership and our commitment to the team, the community and the fans, the future is bright for the Dallas Mavericks.”