Dallas Mayor gives lukewarm response over casino prospect

Article by : Charles Perrin Dec 15, 2023

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Mayor Eric Johnson (R-Dallas) has been rather lukewarm when he was quizzed on the specter of a casino resort coming to the city.

Dallas is currently Texas’ second-largest city, and following news of Miriam Adelson and the Adelson Trust confirming their intention to purchase Mark Cuban’s majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks, this fueled some excitement that things could change.

A deal is expected to be formally ratified and finalized before the end of the year, with reports circulating it could be worth up to $3.5billion.

Adelson, who owns Las Vegas Sands, the gaming empire started by her late husband Sheldon Adelson, is pushing an agenda to legalize casinos in Texas.

Johnson, meanwhile, was pressed at a luncheon held earlier this week by the Dallas Chamber of Commerce as to whether Dallas would house a casino hotel.

Although he stopped short of pouring cold water on the idea, he took more of a pragmatic stance on the topic.

He said: “That’s not something that just because the legislature said can happen, just happens.

“I haven’t been a part of those conversations. I don’t feel like they’re really happening.

“And I think at some point, if he’s [Mark Cuban] serious about really having casino gambling and he’s serious about having it in Texas, I think that’s a conversation a lot of people are willing to have, but we haven’t had it, just to be honest.”

Indeed, Cuban hasn’t concealed his desire to bring a casino to the Dallas area, and it’s part of his over-arching entertainment district plan which could see the Mavs relocate to a new arena.

In Adelson, Cuban would have a formidable and seasoned partner on his side to try and make Dallas a top casino destination in the future.

But Texas isn’t fully conducive to gambling, and a casino gambling bill presented at this year’s legislative session failed.

As Johnson puts it, more talks need to be had, and casino gambling in the Lone State remains a thorny issue. Maybe some of the pressing questions will be answered next year.