A new campaign aimed at bringing commercial casino resorts and sports betting to the Texas masses has been launched with the goal of asking lawmakers to let the voters decide on casino resort destinations in the Lone Star State.
Power to the People
There are no commercial casino resorts in Texas and only one full service Native American casino, the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass, operated by the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas.
But there are powerful gaming companies that would like to change that, chief among them the Las Vegas Sands, whose majority owner, Miriam Adelson, is the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson of the famed Venetian Las Vegas and current majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Las Vegas Sands sold that property and currently operates five casino resorts located in Macao and the sixth, Marina Bay Sands, in Singapore. As of this writing, the Las Vegas Sands does not own or operate any properties in the United States. But it is hoping to change that and is eyeing Texas as its preferred destination.
Political Efforts
Adelson donated nearly $14 million to legislators during the first 10 months of 2024 and created the Texas Destination Resort Alliance (TDRA), a political action committee (PAC), in 2021 with the express intent of bringing commercial casino resorts to Texas.
The TDRA’s most recent launch is a television media campaign “asking state legislators to allow us the opportunity to vote yes on a statewide constitutional amendment authorizing the development of destination resorts in the state’s major markets.”
Texas Senate Chilly to Casinos
In 2023, a constitutional amendment that would allow voters to legalize Texas sports betting narrowly passed the House, edging beyond the supermajority threshold of 100 yes votes, 101-43. However, the Senate was not nearly as friendly, and with the Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick, who opposes casino gambling, controlling the upper chamber, the bill ultimately died.
This year the pro-casino forces in the legislature are attempting another effort in the form of Joint Resolution 16 sponsored by Senator Carol Alvarado that would bring as many as seven casinos to Texas and permit retail sports betting at those destinations.
Economic Benefits of Casino Expansion
“I think it’s a job creator, and we’re not talking about just casinos,” Alvarado said. “But they would have to have a hotel component, a four- to five-star hotel. So, there’s jobs in the hospitality, shops, restaurants, venues for conferences and performances. So, to me, it’s a real economic driver for Texas.”
However, the dynamics within the Senate have not changed enough to be characterized as encouraging for Alvarado’s casino bill, and Dan Patrick remains the lieutenant governor. Patrick has commented that big money expenditures from gaming companies looking to make Texas its next market will have a long road ahead.
“You don’t pass major legislation in a red, conservative state with the Democrats controlling the show, particularly on a major bill like that,” Patrick said during a radio interview in November. “They’ve come in and spent millions and millions of dollars, and they just think that magically it happens. It doesn’t.”
