In a recent television news interview with Inside Texas Politics, Dallas City Councilman Chad West said the city is close to allowing casinos, providing gambling is legalized in Texas.
He said, “I think it’s important for us to decide if we, as a city, want to welcome it into the city. The state is going to make the decision for us if it’s legal or not. If we’re sitting around on our hands, once it becomes legalized, it’s malpractice for us as a city not to put processes in place and plan for welcoming casinos in.”
West added cities like Irving, Arlington and Grand Prairie are watching what Dallas may do regarding casino gambling. He urged city officials to be proactive since gaming tax revenue could allow the city “to pay for whatever we decided is needed, such as additional public safety infrastructure, parks and libraries.”
Although some colleagues on the city council expressed concerns about public safety and social issues relating to casino gambling, West said, “I would guess the state does something. Maybe not full legalization. Maybe just a few licenses here and there to sort of test out the waters like they did with medical marijuana. But I foresee something happening in this next session.”
Interest in legalizing gambling has been increasing in Texas due to the recent sale of Mark Cuban’s majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks to the owners of Las Vegas Sands Corporation and the planned expansion of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, among other developments.
