At Chase’s Make Your Move Summit that occurred during the last week, Mark Cuban, the leader and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, expressed his wish for a casino-centered resorts to be located in Texas, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Potential to lure many tourists:
The aforementioned Cuban, who has a net worth of approximately $6.2 billion, thinks resorts that include casino games in the said state may lure a plethora of tourists. In this regard, he commented: “When you think of all the places you want to save up to vacation, Texas isn’t one of them. There’s no real destination that you save up for. That’s a problem, and I think resort gaming would have a huge impact.”
Furthermore, according to his vision for gaming in the Lone Star State, in the middle of said casino-centered resorts will be the newest arena for the Mavericks and will serve as the centerpiece of the entire property. Additionally, he added that for this step he would like to enter into an alliance with Las Vegas Sands. By then, the American Airline Center will be going through a makeover.
Far from reality:
The fact that Cuban is ready to accept casino gaming at resorts in the said state is a long way from reality because of a lengthy history of anti-industry lawmakers together with a nascent sports wagering market. On a related note, in order for casino games to be validated in Texas, a constitutional amendment is demanded, which would have to receive a minimum of two-thirds votes of the aforementioned lawmakers, meaning that 21 out of a total of 30 senators would have to validate the change.
Also, sports wagering and the casino industry are struggling to “find favor“ with Texas lawmakers, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said, according to Covers.com.
One more reason Cuban’s wish is so far from reality is that Texas residents will need to wait till 2025 to see any chance of being able to use sports wagering and casino gaming, since the state’s legislature just meets in odd-numbered years. Primarily because of this, gambling firms continue to bypass the opportunity-rich market of 30 million inhabitants.
The huge demand for gaming in Texas is evident after 1.14 million tried to place a wager in the state between September 1st and October 23rd, a 68.5% annual growth, in compliance with the information from the Texas Sports Betting Alliance. The surge concurred with the appearance of Texas Rangers in MLB’s American League Championship Series versus the Houston Astros.
Over 20,000 betting tries were noted throughout the last 3 games of the series. In addition, the Rangers would be the victorious against the ALCS prior to officially winning the franchise’s first World Series title.