Mark Cuban is no stranger to taking big bets and has previously said he wants the Dallas Mavericks in a new arena with a resort and casino.
Selling the team to the family behind the Las Vegas Sands gives him a gambling partner who is no stranger to Texas politics.
The Las Vegas Sands and Resort company has hired lobbyists and pushed ads to build casinos in Texas.
So, will their new ownership of the Mavericks mean Dallas is getting a casino?
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“I don’t know,” laughed State Senator Carol Alvarado. “This session, we got a lot further than we’ve ever been.”
The Houston Democrat has fought to legalize gambling for more than a decade. A bill to build casinos received a vote in the Texas House for the first time this spring but failed to advance.
Rob Kohler, a consultant for the Christian Life Commission, the public policy arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, has lobbied against gambling.
He said news of the Sands investment in the Dallas Mavericks doesn’t change the math in the legislature.
“[They’re] joining a long list of people in the waiting line, some people have been in that line for 30 years,” Kohler said.
Republican strategist Vinny Minchillo said the votes aren’t there.
“The bulk of Republican voters probably go to Oklahoma to gamble or go to Louisiana to gamble and would probably like to have a casino closer,” said Minchillo. “But those that are in power now, the more conservative hard-right Republicans, they can’t afford to support casino gambling because their donors and primary voters just wouldn’t have it.”
The Adelson and Dumont families did not mention gambling in a statement Wednesday announcing their intent to buy a majority share of the Mavericks, saying, in part, “The goal is to win and have a team that proudly represents the greater DFW area…”
Alvarado says she and others are playing the long game that gambling will one day be legal.
“The Sands people and others in the gaming industry have been investing in Texas now for quite a number of years, so I know that they are going to continue that investment, and I’m going to continue to do my part,” Alvarado said.
