Patrick Dumont, the Las Vegas Sands Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer, has become more familiar with Texas in recent months. He made clear his vision for the state in a quarterly investor call last week — and it involves casinos.
Dumont’s Monday call included hopes that the state legislature will open the door to the possibility of a Sands-operated casino in the Lone Star State.
“I think the most important thing is that Las Vegas Sands is actively trying to facilitate the development of integrated resorts in the State of Texas and through the liberalization of gaming,” Dumont said in the earnings call. “Over time, we hope that it happens. I can’t tell you when it’s going to be, but we’re very focused on it as a company, and we like the opportunity to develop some very unique tourism assets, specifically in Dallas.”
Patrick Dumont has a family tie to the Dallas Mavericks
Dumont is the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, the casino magnate whose family purchased the Dallas Mavericks last month, and was named Governor of the NBA franchise.
Mark Cuban has retained involvement with the Mavericks, and back in November, a Cuban-held company sold a 12-acre parcel of land to the Sands group, located near downtown Dallas and directly across the Stemmons Freeway from the American Airlines Center, where the Mavericks play their home games.
While that’s not the only land purchase Sands has made in the Metroplex — it also purchased a 108-acre site near the former Texas Stadium in Irving last year — the land sale by the Cuban-held company to Sands is fueling speculation that a casino will eventually be opened in Dallas.
Dallas may be ready to support casino legalization
There’s increasing political support for such a move. Next month, largely thanks to Dallas City Council member Chad West opening up dialogue on the issue, the Council will vote on whether or not to lobby the Texas Legislature to pass casino-enabling legislation when the next session opens up in January 2025.
“As city leaders, we would be committing a disservice to our constituents if we fail to engage in discussions now about what legalization could look like for Dallas,” West told PlayTexas last week. “We need to discuss now how land use, public safety, taxation, and regulation will be handled if the state pulls the switch in a few months, allowing this new revenue and job source to roll out in Texas.”
Currently, most forms of gambling are illegal in Texas, with a great number of gamblers taking potential Texas revenue across the border to casinos in Oklahoma and Louisiana. The Legislature did consider a bill for sports betting in Texas last year, with the House passing the effort before it lost steam in the Senate.
But Texas still remains behind many other states on legalization, with commercial casinos and sports betting in Texas still illegal. There is only one Class III casino operating in a state approaching a population of 30 million — the Lucky Eagle Casino operated by the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas.
Sands certainly has enough money to spend in Texas
In addition to Dupont calling for legalizing casino gambling in Texas, the Sands call included the corporation reporting a net revenue of $2.92 billion and a net income of $469 million for the fourth quarter of 2023.
“We were extremely pleased with our financial and operating results for the quarter, which reflect the ongoing improvement in the operating environment in both Macao and Singapore,” Robert G. Goldstein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said in the call. “We remain deeply enthusiastic about our opportunities for growth in both Macao and Singapore in the years ahead.”
