Is Mark Cuban Betting on Legalized Gambling? New Mavs Owners Buy Land in Irving, Dallas
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Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently sold a majority stake in his professional hoops team to the Dumont and Adelson families. The prominent casino magnates and owners of Las Vegas Sands Corp. purchased 100 acres northeast of the demolished Texas Stadium in Irving last July.
It doesn’t take Woodward and Bernstein to crack this case.
Cuban has for years lobbied for resort casino gambling venues in Texas, but it’ll take an act of the state legislature to legalize it.
In a Q&A with the Dallas Morning News published last week, Cuban addressed the Mavericks sale, approved unanimously by the NBA Board of Governors.
“It’s a partnership, right?” Cuban told the DMN. “They’re not basketball people; I’m not a real estate person. That’s why I did it. I could have gotten more money selling it to somebody else. Obviously, I’m really excited about everything, but this was a great partnership. I’ve known these guys for a long time. They’re great at the things I’m not good at.”
The Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday that Sands Corp. made another big land purchase of more than 12 acres on Stemmons Freeway at Inspiration Drive in Dallas’ Design District. The property, valued at about $42.9 million, is across the freeway from Victory Park and includes a building now used as the Mavericks practice facility, according to the report.
Will The Texas Legislature Gamble on Resort Casinos?
As a billionaire businessman who served as one of the key “sharks” on the ABC reality television series “Shark Tank,” Mark Cuban is the king of speculative investment.
With the 89th legislative session looming in January 2025, it looks like he’s betting on a regulatory win.
The national casino industry contributes nearly $329 billion annually to the U.S. economy, according to a 2023 study conducted on behalf of the American Gaming Association.
But will Texas allow resort casinos?
CandysDirt.com reached out to Texas Rep. Terry Meza, D-Irving, and Texas Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas.
Meza did not respond to our inquiry. A spokeswoman from Johnson’s office said the senator would decline comment at this time.
WFAA reported that Fort Worth State Rep. Charlie Geren, a Republican, filed a bill last session that would have given Texas voters the choice to decide on sports betting and expanding casino gaming to a limited number of “destination resorts.”
The bill died, but many, including Cuban, have said they think it’s likely to resurface in the future and that North Texas could become a premier tourist destination for resort casinos.
What a Resort Casino Would Mean to Irving’s Economy
Irving, Texas, is no stranger to big tourist attractions — and plucking such bright lights from Dallas.
One can’t really deep dive into the beef between Irving and Dallas without mentioning Texas Stadium.
The Dallas Cowboys played at the Cotton Bowl from the team’s inception in 1960 until founding owner Clint Murchison Jr. announced in 1967 plans to build the new Texas Stadium in Irving.
According to reports, Murchison “felt that the Fair Park area of the city had become unsafe and downtrodden, and did not want his season ticket holders to be forced to go through it. Murchison was denied a request by then-Mayor Erik Jonsson to build a new stadium in downtown Dallas as part of a municipal bond package.”
Texas Stadium remained the Dallas Cowboys’ home in Irving until 2009 when the $1.3 billion AT&T Stadium was built in Arlington.
The Adelson and Dumont families’ reported $3.8 billion purchase of the Mavs also puts the professional basketball team “in a better position to compete” as concerns about dips in traditional media revenue were raised by Cuban, according to the WFAA report.
NBC DFW reported on Dec. 27 that the transaction offered the Adelson and Dumont families a 77 percent share of the team, with Cuban keeping the remaining 23 percent and operational control of the team.
The land purchased by Village Walk RE 2 LLC at 2615 Spur 482, near the former home of the Dallas Cowboys, carried a $22.4 million price tag.
The City of Irving is an “economic powerhouse in North Texas and is home to the region’s largest office park, where more than 10 percent of Fortune 500 companies are headquartered or have a significant presence,” according to the city website. Wells Fargo recently announced a new corporate campus to be built in Irving, relocating the majority of Dallas employees by 2025.
The American Gaming Association study found that, in addition to a massive national economic impact, gaming generates $52.7 billion in tax revenue to federal, state, and local governments and provides jobs for a workforce of 1.8 million.
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If given enough money, and you should check how much just about every one of the Legislators get from all sorts of lobbyist, I admit I did not keep tabs on what was going on in politics for awhile there, I was too busy trying to make a living the way that most Americans do, but like Trump or not, the Democrats had it out for him, so we really never got a chance to actually see what he could do! We use to have respect for each other, and our media gave us the unbiased news, I’m sure their pockets are growing heavy from the “Hollywood”
Influencers, mafia, whatever you want to call them. It’s the mega rich influencing and they do not have a grasp of what normal folks are going thru, and while they are busy trying to take all of our rights and things, they wonder why we don’t want to give up our guns and our right to defend what little we’re trying to keep!
I think Texans are smart, and if we educate each other with the important information that we find out, we will be in good shape.
The Las Vegas Sands pays most every Legislator a nice extra salary, and in some cases, a nice side hustle for all the rest, something that is frowned upon in the real world of business! It’s usually a reason to be fired! Google what lobbyist pay legislators in Texas, their not even ashamed of it! So it boils down to, unless you have money or you know a A-List celebrity, no one will ever hear you idea, suggestion! It won’t go anywhere no matter if it’s a great idea, cute for cancer, whatever we won’t hear about for a really long time!
Here is info that I found out and I am sharing with you so you can educate! The Las Vegas Sands does not own one single casino in the United States, they own some of the largest casino resorts, however they are all in China and Singapore! (That’s right) you will be surprised how many casinos in Vegas are owned by China in Vegas, have you not noticed the Asian influence in most all of the newer casinos? They have all or partial ownership! It appears that The Las Vegas Sands is the front man for all of this land that they are buying up! I can’t believe Cuban sold out to them! I can’t see me going to another Mavericks game, in my educated eyes they belong to China now, and all because Cuban wants the biggest new stadium with his name all over it. He also wants to own gaming in Texas, he does not care about the common man and woman. Texas the information is there but you have to dig for it! A group of my Texas friends have joined together and we have 2 plans for Texas Gaming, both are solid, and both are good for Texas first and foremost! With partners right here in Texas! Both will have the majority of the gaming monies going to the states, cities, government, and Texans. If you want to know the details of both email me at: [email protected]
You owe it to yourself and your family! If the only way to get gaming is to go with a “Vegas” partner, we need to say NO! If we don’t, gaming is the way that China will infiltrate the Great State of Texas, it worked in Vegas! We’re better than that!!! By the way…I have been in Gaming for over 25 years
Thank you!!!
I remember in the early 2000s of a couple of casino owners comeing to North Texas and buyer land to build their casinos. They were convinced it would only be a couple of years. They bought in Cooke County, Denton County and Tarrent County. Those are the ones i know of.