In Texas, hopes may be rising that expanded casino gambling could happen sooner rather than later, following the recent announcement that Dr. Miriam Adelson and the Miriam Adelson Trust will acquire a majority stake in Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks.
Cuban has said he’d like to see a new arena included in a casino resort in downtown Dallas. Besides Cuban, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Houston Rockets and Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta have pushed for legalizing casino and sports gambling.
However, Texas Lieutenant Governor and Senate President Dan Patrick, a longtime opponent of expanded gambling in the state, said there are not enough votes to advance casino legislation to Governor Greg Abbott.
In a recent interview with CBS News, Patrick said, “My experience and my knowledge is that we aren’t even close to having 15 votes or 16 votes for casino.”
Republican strategist Vinny Minchillo noted, “The bulk of Republican voters probably go to Oklahoma to gamble or go to Louisiana to gamble and would probably like to have a casino closer. But those that are in power now, the more conservative hard-right Republicans, they can’t afford to support casino gambling because their donors and primary voters just wouldn’t have it.”
Adelson is the largest shareholder of Las Vegas Sands, which has spent millions of dollars lobbying Texas lawmakers to move forward on legalizing commercial casinos. The state constitution would have to be amended, requiring two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate, then a voter approval through a statewide referendum. Observers said the likelihood of this scenario is minimal since Patrick controls the Senate’s agenda and the state doesn’t need the revenue expanded gambling would produce.
Currently the Texas Legislature is holding a fourth special session. If Abbott doesn’t call for a fifth, the Legislature is not scheduled to convene in 2024.
However, Patrick told CBS News a February special session isn’t out of the question. Asked about that possibility, state Senator Carol Alvardo, who has battled for legalized gambling for more than a decade, said, “I don’t know. This session, we got a lot further than we’ve ever been.” Earlier this year, the House approved a measure to legalize sports betting but Patrick blocked it in the Senate.
Patrick said following that defeat, there was no significant voter demand for gambling legislation. “When the session was over, there was not a cry from voters calling their senators or House members, saying, ‘Gosh, we didn’t pass, I needed this bill,’” he said.
To date, most Texas Senators have not declared on the record whether they oppose or support gambling expansion, making it difficult to determine whether the needed votes are there.
