Irving residents are saying “no” to casino gambling in their city, but city officials are saying “yes.”
Citizens who attended a town hall meeting with a Las Vegas Sands lobbyist on Friday overwhelmingly opposed a casino complex the company wants to build in Irving.
Residents again overwhelmingly objected to plans for a casino during Monday night’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
Yet commissioners voted 5-4 to fast-track recommending approval of Sands’ casino plans to Irving City Council members, who are set to vote on the issue on Thursday.
Irving Residents vs. Las Vegas Sands
Residents held signs reading “No Casinos In Irving!” and “Don’t Vegas My Irving” throughout Friday’s town hall.
Volunteers wearing “No Casino” t-shirts also circulated a petition opposing Irving City Council’s plan to rezone Sands-owned property at the old Texas Stadium site to allow for a casino complex—a development that also depends on the state legislature and Texas voters approving legalized gambling.
“It’s not a big casino-centric thing we’re going to build,” Sands’ Senior VP of Government Relations Andy Abboud told the standing-room-only crowd at the Friday night event held at the Irving Convention Center.
Amid frequent shouts and boos, Abboud pitched the proposed “destination resort” as more than just gambling. He said that Sands envisions restaurants, entertainment venues, and convention space in addition to a casino.
The complex could also include a new home for the Dallas Mavericks. Mark Cuban sold a majority interest in the basketball team to Las Vegas Sands owner Miriam Adelson in 2023.
“Y’all can relax. It’s not even legal yet!” added Abboud, downplaying residents’ concerns about the negative impacts of casino gambling such as increases in traffic, crime, prostitution, and addiction.
Predatory Gambling
Gambling opponents argue that “predatory gambling” is addictive by design.
“They can’t turn a profit without creating addicts,” said Cheryl Bean, director of the Texas Anti-Predatory Gambling Alliance, during a presentation last week hosted by conservative citizen-activist group True Texas Project.
Abboud said Friday that “only 1 to 2 percent of people are addicted to gambling” and asserted gambling is not predatory “if you have a strong regulatory environment.”
He said Las Vegas Sands just wants the legislature to give Texans the right to vote on the issue.
“Give Irving the right to vote!” someone in the crowd shouted back.
Not In Irving
Irving is home to about a quarter-million residents.
It’s also home to a Cistercian abbey and a Dominican priory, as well as the Catholic University of Dallas.
Many members of the city’s Catholic and Muslim communities showed up Friday night to oppose the casino complex, which would be located directly adjacent to the abbey and the university.
During a question and answer session, the Sands spokesman asserted that casinos “have no negative impact on home values” and said it’s a “myth” that casino resorts increase crime.
He said the Sands is “not asking for any tax credits” and that the reason the company has so many lobbyists is “to be transparent.”
Abboud said Sands has not donated any money to Irving City Council campaigns, but he acknowledged they have donated “millions” to state-level candidates.
The Sands pitchman repeatedly emphasized that a “well-regulated” legalized gambling environment, with “only the best and brightest legacy operators,” would be safer than the current “illegal gambling” market.
Abboud told the crowd there is “no doubt” a casino complex would bring “massive benefits” to Irving and said he would do as many events as needed “until people feel comfortable.”
Irving residents remain skeptical.
What’s the City’s Rush?
Councilman Luis Canosa brought the city’s fast-track casino rezoning plan to the public’s attention with a post on X following a February 27 council meeting at which the issue was first discussed.
He was the only one of the nine Irving City Council members to oppose moving forward with accommodating a future casino.
During that meeting, Councilman Kyle Taylor told Canosa, “I haven’t had a single resident tell me this was a bad project. Period.”
The following week, dozens of residents showed up to a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting and told P&Z commissioners they believe allowing casino gambling in Irving is a very bad idea.
Casino opponents showed up again in overwhelming numbers to Monday night’s P&Z meeting called specifically to green-light the casino development by rezoning the Sands property to a new “high intensity mixed use” designation that includes an arena, casino gambling, and “destination resorts” as permitted uses.
“This is the start of a process,” a Sands representative told commissioners during a pre-meeting work session Monday night. “There’s a long way to go. We want to be a good corporate citizen, so we will engage with everybody in this community.”
Almost all of the hundred or so meeting attendees spoke against rezoning the Planned Unit Development Zone designated PUD #6 to allow casino gambling.
Many residents noted that Irving doesn’t need gambling to have a thriving economy.
“We don’t need the Sands Corporation and their hideous, hulking casinos to have a great future, great jobs, and growth,” said Irving resident Ada Thomas Pimentel, who works at the University of Dallas.
Others said a casino would spoil the family-friendly nature of Irving and pointed to examples showing that crime is “an inseparable part” of any gambling operation.
Some also pointed to recently exposed corruption within the Texas Lottery as an example of why expanded gambling is bad for the state.
Former Republican State Rep. Rodney Anderson was among the few who spoke in favor of rezoning the Sands property, saying he opposes gambling but wants the area developed because it will “generate millions in new tax revenue.”
“That is smart, conservative fiscal policy and benefits every single resident in this city,” said Anderson.
Sands has indicated they are only interested in developing the property if casinos are included.
Another casino supporter, former Arlington police officer Randle Meadows, spoke in favor of the project but failed to mention that he is a political consultant with Murphy Nasica, which has been paid to lobby for Texas Defense PAC—a pro-gambling political action committee funded by Sands owner Miriam Adelson.
Several residents asked commissioners to delay a vote on approving casinos until gambling becomes legal.
After more than seven hours of public comments, P&Z Commission Chairman Daniel Denny said he was “not on board” with recommending a project that includes casino gambling.
Denny noted that Las Vegas Sands purchased the property with the current zoning, and while it was a “smart move” for Sands to ask for what they want, the city “also needs to drive a hard bargain.”
“I see no compelling reason why we need to do it now,” he added.
Denny voted against the proposed rezoning, along with three other commissioners: April Myrick, Fahad Ahmed, and Joshua Skinner.
Commissioners Alicia Reyes, Debbi Haake, Gerald Sanguino, Ricky Lightfoot, and Terry Prichard voted for the plan.
With a 5-4 approval, the rezoning will now be recommended favorably to Irving City Council at their next meeting on Thursday night.
Casino Gambling in Texas
Casino gambling is currently illegal in Texas aside from a few casinos run by Native Americans on tribal reservations.
Legalization would require amending the state constitution, which would need approval from two-thirds of lawmakers in the Texas House and Senate and then a majority of Texas voters.
Measures to put casino gambling on the November ballot have been filed in both legislative chambers.
Democrat State Sen. Carol Alvarado of Houston refiled legislation from past sessions touting gambling as providing “tax relief and funding for education” and designating casino licenses for seven “destination resorts” in specific geographic regions.
On Friday—the last day to file legislation—another Democrat, State Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas, submitted a different casino gambling measure.
Johnson’s proposal mirrors pro-gambling legislation filed in the House by Fort Worth Republican State Rep. Charlie Geren, which calls for the government to “strictly regulate” casino gambling and allows for 10 casino licenses with no reference to locations.
Casino gambling has bipartisan support in the majority-Republican House, even though the Texas GOP platform opposes all expansion of legalized gambling.
Last week, a group of 15 Republican representatives signed a letter rejecting all attempts to expand gambling in Texas.
Also last week, Texas Defense PAC launched attack ads against State Rep. Matt Shaheen (R–Plano), who has filed several anti-gambling measures this session.
Shaheen’s House Bill 4297 would prohibit advertising products that are illegal—including casinos and gambling. The Sands-funded Texas Destination Resort Alliance has bombarded residents with billboards, mailers, and text messages promoting casino gambling under the “destination resort” branding.
Both Sands lobbyists and the city officials who support allowing a casino in Irving to spur the development of the long-empty property acknowledge it will likely be several years before Texas legalizes casino gambling.
Casino opponents cite that as another reason to oppose the rezoning, saying actual development of the prime property will be delayed even longer as Sands only wants to build if a casino is part of the package.
Irving City Council is expected to vote on rezoning the property to accommodate the Sands’ proposed casino during their next meeting on Thursday, March 20.
Canosa will provide an update on the project at a Plano Young Republicans meeting on March 27.
