Community leaders in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex plan to study how destination casinos would impact the area.
The North Texas Commission, a public-private partnership “dedicated to advancing the vibrancy of the North Texas region,” is exploring the issue ahead of the 2025 Texas legislative session.
The group is forming a committee of business and community leaders to look at the impact casinos might have on North Texas. Dallas-Fort Worth is the fourth-largest metro area in the US and the largest in Texas.
More importantly, they’re left with the question: what will it finally take to win overlawmakers?
Sands invokes Red River rivalry at community roundtable
There are no commercial casinos in the Lone Star State, and Texas online casinos remain prohibited. Online casino play is free at Texas sweepstakes and social casinos.
North Texas Commission (NTC) COO Patrick Brophey wants to cast a wide net on the destination casino issue.
“This is open to North Texas Commission members who we traditionally cater to, but well beyond that as well to get the full scope of our community, including social services, public safety, nonprofits, arts and entertainment, mental health professionals, and business and industry leaders. We want parity across the region.”
The NTC hosted a roundtable discussion last week. At the meeting, Andy Abboud, senior vice president for government affairs for the Las Vegas Sands Corp., presented a vision of what a destination resort casino in North Texas might look like.
As Abboud noted in his remarks, Texans are already traveling to Oklahoma to gamble. Losing out on tax revenue to a neighboring state hits home in most places, but Texans losing out to Sooners in any manner is another matter entirely.
As PlayTexas has discussed many times, Texans contribute heavily to the success of the Oklahoma casino market. North Texans, in particular. The economic impact of a resort casino industry in North Texas would be huge, outpacing both of Oklahoma’s tribal gaints: Winstar and Choctaw. That prospect is certainly tempting to Texas policymakers who’d like to see DFW be the gaming and entertainment destination in the region.
As such, Sands, along with its majority owner, Miriam Adelson, is redoubling its efforts to convince Texas lawmakers to legalize a small number of destination resort casinos in the state.
Dallas City Council member Chad West, a pro-gambling voice in North Texas politics, shared details about the roundtable with constituents and supporters in an email. In it, West said Abboud suggested “the size, scope, and amenities of a DFW resort would be most similar to Marina Bay Sands,” an iconic Sands resort in Singapore recognized around the world.
Sands may be looking to operate five casinos in Texas
Abboud hinted that Sands aims to operate five destination casino resorts in Texas. Two would be in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, West wrote.
Earlier this year, Sands COO Patrick Dumont—who, like Adelson, owns the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks franchise—indicated the company’s intention to bring a casino to the region. Over the last couple of years, Sands has purchased land in both Dallas and Irving.
Dumont said he envisioned “a brand-new arena for the Mavericks as part of an entertainment complex that’s large-scale, in a destination resort, with hotel rooms and space for both business and leisure tourism.”
West also noted that Abboud had “spent a lot of time gathering data about hotel occupancy, as hoteliers have been concerned about the resorts hurting their occupancy rates.” He added that Abboud “has data indicating that ‘all ships rise together’ and see occupancy rate increases when Sands brings a resort to their areas.”
WFAA-TV reported that Abboud thinks the state would likely limit the number of destination casino resort licenses.
“It doesn’t need to be on every corner. If you diminish the market, you diminish the investment and you’re just diminishing the economic impact that it can have.”
Study says 70,000 jobs could be created
The article also shared an economic impact study conducted by George Zodrow, an economics professor at Rice University. Sands commissioned the study ahead of the prior legislative session in 2023.
The study estimated that gaming could add $13 billion to Texas’s economy and create 70,000 permanent jobs. It also found that the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area could potentially see a $34.6 million increase in tax revenue each year.
It would include $5.9 million from sales tax, $28 million from property taxes, and $700,000 in other non-gaming taxes.
How to make Texas the destination resort
Mark Cuban, minority owner of the Mavericks, has asked the rhetorical question many times: What do you tell your out-of-state friend who asks why they should visit Texas?
The implication is that while Texas has a lot going on, somehow explaining why it’s a destination can be difficult.
Resorts with integrated casinos, sporting complexes, and top-flight entertainment options are part of Cuban’s and Sands’ answer to the question from the out-of-state friend. Sands has the experience and the resources to make Cuban’s vision a reality, but, so far, they haven’t been able to get the Texas Senate on board.
Increasing Texas tourism, especially when it’s sports focused, isn’t a hard sell. Dallas hosted this year’s Copa America and will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Explaining the economic impact on the state of casino gaming is also cut and dry.
What’s most important now seems to be emphasizing the destination resort rather than the casino. When more Texans see the casino as a part rather than the whole, and as Sands and other key casino stakeholders crystalize their visions for everything beyond a casino that a Texas resort can be, more people will get on board.
PlayTexas Managing Editor, Tyler Andrews, contributed to this report.