“And it won’t be one of those things, I don’t think, where you ask the city and state for concessions. But you’re talking about billions of dollars in revenue,” Cuban told The Dallas Morning News last year. “Obviously, it’s got to pass the Legislature, and I’m not the politician to know all the elements there. Passing gambling legislation would potentially anger the influential evangelical Christian community that supports many GOP politicians. Doing so does carry risks for lawmakers, however. HB1942 won’t be referred.”Įven if Patrick eventually relents and gambling legislation is no longer dead on arrival in the Senate, it would still require two-thirds of legislators in the House and Senate to approve it before it would get sent to voters for approval. We don’t waste time on bills without overwhelming GOP support. The Senate must focus on issues voters expect us to pass. “I've said repeatedly there is little to no support for expanding gaming from Senate GOP,” Patrick wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in May. As the president of the Texas Senate, he has the power to kill any legislation that would legalize gambling in his chamber. While some elected officials may be more open to gambling in Texas, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick remains an ardent detractor. Legislation they supported didn’t get very far in 2021 or 2023. “Texas is considered the biggest plum still waiting to be out there in the history of hospitality and gaming.”ĭespite the millions the Adelsons and Las Vegas Sands have poured into the state, legalized gambling still faces significant hurdles. “We view Texas as a worldwide destination and one of the top potential markets in the entire world,” Abboud said during a conference hosted by the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. In the lead-up to the session, Andy Abboud, the top lobbyist for Las Vegas Sands at the time, spoke about Texas becoming a world-class destination for casino gambling and the benefits that gaming could bring to the state.

The Adelsons, GOP mega-donors who were President Donald Trump’s most significant financial backers during the 2016 presidential campaign, donated $4.5 million in September 2020 to a Texas account affiliated with the Republican State Leadership Committee to help preserve GOP control of the state House for the 2021 legislative session, the Texas Tribune reported.ĭuring that session, Las Vegas Sands had at least 10 lobbyists roaming the Capitol halls advocating for casino gambling legislation in Texas. Adelson is carrying the torch of her late husband, Sheldon Adelson, who first targeted Texas.

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