Las Vegas Sands Building Support for Legalized Casinos in Texas

Las Vegas Sands Senior VP Andy Abboud, seen here in a file photo, began making the serious push for legal Texas casinos to mayors and other government officials and prominent politicos last week. (Image: YouTube)

Executives from Las Vegas Sands met with key political figures in North Texas last week in an effort to rally support for bringing casinos to Texas in the years to come.

The Dallas Morning News reported Monday that Andy Abboud, the senior vice president of government relations for Sands, met with several prominent leaders last Tuesday in Hurst, Texas, in a meeting that was arranged by the North Texas Commission and the Texas Association of Business.

Sands Going All-In on Texas Casinos

Officials said to have attended the meeting included Arlington mayor Jim Ross, Irving mayor Rick Stopfer, Farmers Branch mayor Terry Lynne, and Dallas city council member Chad West.

Sands has been pouring money into the state of Texas in the hopes of being on the ground floor if casino gaming is legalized there. Along with a heavy lobbying campaign, Sands has also purchased 108 acres of land in Irving, near the site of the former Dallas Cowboys stadium. 

Chron.com reported that Rice University political science professor Mark Jones has estimated that the company has spent close to $100 million on lobbying and political donations in an effort to get casino gambling legalized in the state, while Axios reported that the company had 72 lobbyists in Texas in 2023, more than any other organization.

According to West, the meeting was a necessary step to help prepare for the likely possibility that Texas online casinos could be legal sooner rather than later.

“I’m personally not a gambler, and I don’t really want to be,” West told the Dallas Morning News. “But I do think it’s an industry that has an incredible economic impact opportunity. I unequivocally believe Texas will legalize gambling and, because of that, I think we have a fiduciary duty as representatives to be prepared for that.”

GOP Platform, Constitutional Amendment Stand in Way of Legalization

Getting casino gambling legalized in Texas would take significant work. It would require a state constitutional amendment, which requires voter approval as well as successful Senate and House votes. A bigger hurdle might be getting enough support from state Republicans, as the Texas GOP platform specifically states that “we oppose any expansion of gambling, including legalized casino gambling.”

Sands is hoping to overcome that opposition by promoting the economic benefits of allowing casino resorts into the state. At last week’s meeting, Sands suggested that legalized gambling could add $13 billion to the Texas gross domestic product and create 70,000 permanent jobs. 

All that, according to the company, would be without flooding the state with casinos. Sands says it would look to put at least five in Texas, including as many as two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. 

“It doesn’t need to be on every corner,” Abboud said, via the Dallas Morning News. “If you diminish the market, you diminish the investment and you’re just diminishing the economic impact that it can have.”

Sands and other proponents of casino gaming are hoping the idea gains traction in the 2025 legislative session. However, those familiar with the Lone Star State’s politics acknowledge that there’s a long way to go.

“Anytime you’re talking about amending the state’s constitution, it’s got to be an uphill battle. And it should be,” Patrick Brophey, COO of the North Texas Commission, said via NBC DFW. “You really get a laundry list of issues, and I think that all concerns are valid.”