What Does a Gold Digger Buying the NBA Mavericks Have to do with Legalized Gambling in Texas?

A MEGA-CASINO IN DALLAS? / LEGAL GAMBLING IN TEXAS?

The catch is…REPUBLICAN TEXAS doesn’t support gambling.

I’m surprised there’s not more buzz swirling about this, especially in gambling circles. Lost in the silly fan frenzy about Mark Cuban and the NBA Mavericks (which I don’t really care about) is the very real emerging possibility that the evil battle-ax known as Miriam Adelson, one of the most despised figures in Las Vegas, is actually using the transaction and getting into sports franchise ownership in order to spawn a much larger, more impactful project.  READ MORE HERE

Reportedly, this is a grand design to raise her own profile and influence and foster in the development of a giant mega-resort in Dallas, tied to a new basketball arena. Obviously, this is a huge development in multiple sectors, if true.

I suspect that a mega-resort anchored in uber-rich Dallas would be something like the Sands Resort planting its flag in Macau. It could even become one of the biggest, most lucrative gambling enterprises ever built. Just imagine The Venetian being placed in North Dallas. The place would mint money.

Ahh, but there’s a huuuuuuge catch. Adelson is a Republican super-donor. Her dead husband was even the self-appointed GOP kingmaker and infamously held what was known as the “Adelson Primary,” where the candidate-buttkissers lined up to meet the red-haired codger-mogul with the hope of his blessing (and his political clout, and his money). It’s one thing for the Adelsons to back Trump, who himself was a former (many times failed) casino owner. The trouble in Texas is — CASINO GAMBLING IS ILLEGAL. It won’t be easy to change this. This is the most backward state in the nation on gambling policy. Dallas City and County, overwhelmingly Democratic, would certainly support the legalization of gambling. They’d probably even welcome Adelson as the leading suitor to develop the first mega-resort, despite her far-Right politics. The catch is — REPUBLICAN TEXAS doesn’t support gambling.

I’m sure that if polled in secret, most Texans, even conservatives would support casino gambling in their state. Hell, most of the millions of cars in Louisiana and Oklahoma casino parking lots right across the border are probably Republican-voting Texans. Why do you think there’s a mega-casino the size of the MGM Grand in a hellhole called Thackerville, Oklahoma along the Red River? Answer: TEXANS, and especially gambler Texans. The trouble is, fundamentalist Christians, who strangle the Republican Party in Texas and throughout the South, aren’t supporting gambling. When I was growing up, the Bible-thumpers were the crusaders, ALWAYS against anything to do with gambling. Yeah, it’s even one of the reasons I moved away 35 years ago and never had any interest in ever going back — unless it was to see mommy and daddy. This shared anti gambling idiocy goes for the current Governor. This goes for Senators, including scumbag Cruz. And this goes for state legislators and senators. Note: The reason why Texas is so Republican is because there are so many more districts in rural areas of the state. Texas is giant, and progressively blue Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso simply don’t have enough districts to overcome the many Red rural districts. It’s unlikely the ultra-conservative Republican Christian politicians are going to legalize casino gambling, even if it’s in Dallas. This should be quite a fight.

But let me add this. My knowledge and opinions could be outdated. Even though I have family and friends throughout Texas, perhaps someone can enlighten me as to how Miriam Adelson’s purchase of the Dallas Mavericks could be a tumbling domino towards full casino gambling legalization, the question made even murkier by lots of conflicting politics.

I’m really open to discussion here and would like to read comments from those who might have more knowledge, especially local knowledge, about this issue. This is to say, I am open to persuasion.