In the face of gambling opposition from Irving citizens, Las Vegas Sands has dropped its casino plans, asking the city’s zoning board to approve a new development plan for the former Texas Stadium site, one without any gaming component. This is an apparent reversal for Sands, which previously said it might not develop the site at all if legislators don’t change the state’s laws to permit a casino resort.
Sands was founded by the late Sheldon Adelson and still controlled by his family. Although it has sold off its casino properties in its hometown of Las Vegas, it has been eyeing Texas as a potential re-entry point to the US market. The Adelson family also holds a controlling interest in the Dallas Mavericks NBA team.
Some of this planning may still hinge on whether Texas lawmakers legalize gambling in the state. Texas is the most populous state that does not have widespread legal casino gaming. Next to California, the Lone Star State is the most populated without legal online betting. Neither online sports betting nor TX online casinos are permitted by law, where powerful Republican politicians have thwarted efforts to make it legal.
Earlier this month, on March 17, the Irving Planning Board voted 5-4 to approve a proposed development by Las Vegas Sands on the former site of Texas Stadium, which was demolished in 2010. That venue formerly hosted the Dallas Cowboys. The Adelson family wanted to pour more than a billion dollars into a plan that would have resulted in a hotel resort, casino, and entertainment stages in Irving, north of Dallas.
Public outcry over a possible Irving casino prompts Adelson Group to pivot
A town hall meeting last week prior to the vote on the Las Vegas Sands proposal led some residents of Irving to line up squarely against the development plan. That effort has seemed to cause the Adelson development group to pause.
The Las Vegas Sands Corporation Senior Vice-President of Global Real Estate Development Mark Boekenheide submitted a request to the Irving city council to strike the gaming component from the proposal. That came just before the council was set to meet in committee to discuss advancing the plans to the next phase.
The amended plan, without a casino, was approved by the Irving council last Thursday. According to WFAA ABC 8, Boekenheide said during the meeting:
“At this time, given the current status of gaming expansion legislation in the state and certainly some of the concerns that are being spoken in our several meetings here, Sands has asked the Irving City Council to remove the destination resort and gaming component from the proposal …”
Rumors have circulated that the Sands’ plan could also include a future arena to host the Mavericks, moving the NBA team out of downtown Dallas. The family, specifically Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, has faced criticism this year following the stunning trade of NBA star Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. If the Adelson family were to relocate the Mavericks, and place the team near an unpopular casino, it could lead to even more bad publicity.
The decision to request the removal of a casino resort from the Irving plans is surprising. The Adelson group has a long connection to gaming in Nevada. When the family bought the Mavericks, it expressed a keen interest in Texas legalizing sports betting and casino gaming.
