On Wednesday, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban entered into an agreement to sell a controlling interest of the team to Miriam Adelson, widow of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. The deal gives her a potential 57% ownership of the team and is worth close to $3.5 billion according to reports.
Adelson sold $2 billion of her shares of Las Vegas Sands stock Tuesday to help finance the purchase. Adelson and her family run the casinos and resorts company that was founded by her late husband.
Possible casino partnership strengthening?
In November, Cuban told the Dallas Morning News that he’d like to partner with Las Vegas Sands to introduce casinos in Texas by bringing a new arena in the middle of a resort and casino to Dallas in the future. The Mavericks have played in the American Airlines Center since it opened in 2001.
Cuban believes destination casinos could be vital in Texas to boost tourism. During the state’s 2023 legislative session, bills outlining legal resort-style casinos in the state were introduced but never made it out of either the Senate or the House of Representatives.
Cuban has been pushing for casinos since December when he first mentioned a partnership with Sands. Based on estimates in 2022, a $2 billion investment would have to be made to jump start plans for a resort-style casino and arena. In October 2021, Cuban said he was “for legalizing all betting” when asked about sports betting initiatives in the state.
History of Sands’ political donations in the state
The Sands’ political action committee, the Vegas Sands PAC, donated millions of dollars to Texas politicians in the last legislative cycle, making a push to lobby for legalized casinos. Adelson directly contributed $1 million to Texas Governor Greg Abbott on top of a $50,000 check from the PAC at the end of 2022. According to Forbes, Adelson and her late husband gave over $218 million to conservative candidates and causes during the 2020 U.S. election cycle.
Cuban bought the Mavericks for $285 million from original team owner Don Carter in 2000. According to reports, he will retain operational control of the team once the purchase is finalized in the next couple of months.
