In a big win for Irving residents opposed to gambling, Las Vegas Sands folded on its plans to build a casino complex in the city.
Irving City Council voted Thursday night to rezone now-vacant property owned by Sands to allow for new development—but not casino gambling.
“This is a Win for Irving and a Win for Texas!” posted Cheryl Bean, director of the Texas Anti-Predatory Gambling Alliance. Bean praised citizens for speaking up about their concerns and city council members for listening to them, calling it a “rare thing.”
City officials had been trying to fast-track approval of a zoning change requested by Sands that would have allowed casino gambling within a “destination resort” if the state legalizes gambling.
But the casino company’s plans to bring gambling to Irving faced strong opposition from the community since residents first learned of the proposed rezoning during a February 27 council meeting.
At a town hall meeting last Friday and again at a seven-hour Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Monday night, residents overwhelmingly spoke against bringing casino gambling to Irving.
While P&Z voted 5-4 to recommend the rezoning, public pressure pushed a majority of city council members to withdraw support for the plan.
Just ahead of Thursday night’s council meeting to vote on the rezoning, a Sands representative asked city officials to remove “casino gaming” and “destination resort” from the requested zoning change for the organization’s property.
Still, most of the 176 citizens who signed up to give public comments at the meeting stayed for hours to speak against Las Vegas Sands—or any company—bringing casino gambling to Irving.
“Not one Irving resident has come forward to speak in favor of the casino,” noted Susan Hanssen, a professor at the University of Dallas. “It is super-abundantly obvious that The Sands dropped the casino because they didn’t have the votes.”
A majority of the speakers thanked council members for rejecting casinos in Irving. Many also asked them to make casino gambling a prohibited use for the Sands site, if not citywide.
Bean noted that Texas remains a top target for gambling expansion, as it’s one of only six states that don’t have casinos.
“What happens in Irving affects the whole state,” warned city resident Donna Collins. “Let’s not Vegas-ize or China-ize our Texas.”
“Las Vegas Sands is not a good bet,” Thomas Crawford told council members, echoing many residents’ misgivings about the corporation’s past dealings.
Members of the city’s Catholic and Muslim communities also showed up again Thursday night, as they did at previous meetings, and remained united in their opposition to gambling. Irving is home to the Catholic University of Dallas and a Cistercian abbey and school, which are adjacent to the development site.
As of Thursday night, citizens had gathered more than 5,500 signatures on a petition to stop the rezoning of the site for a destination resort/casino.
After six hours of public comments, council members voted 6-3 to create a new “high intensity mixed use district” zoning category—which as revised at Sands’ request did not include casino gambling or destination resorts as permitted uses.
Members also voted 6-3 to rezone the Sands property to that new category.
Councilman Brad LaMorgese said the process had been rushed, and the public needs more time and information on such a major issue, but he was “very comfortable” voting for the casino-free rezoning plans.
“This use is way better than what could be developed now,” he said.
Councilmen John Bloch, Luis Canosa, and Abdul Khabeer voted no.
Bloch said he is “staunchly opposed” to casino gambling. “We need to go back to the drawing board. I want it all except for the casino.”
Khabeer said city officials needed more clarity about the impact of the zoning changes.
Canosa proposed amending the new zoning category to make casino gambling a prohibited use, as many residents had requested, but no other council member seconded his motion.
Sands has emphasized that its proposed resort development would include hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, and possibly an arena to serve as a new home for the Dallas Mavericks. Sands owner Miriam Adelson bought a majority stake in the basketball team from Mark Cuban in 2023.
Yet the company has also stated it is only interested in building a resort if it includes a casino. Sands is also considering other sites in the state.
The casino corporation has spent millions lobbying to legalize gambling in Texas. All parties acknowledge that legalization—which requires approval from the state legislature and Texas voters—is unlikely to occur any time soon.
It’s unclear how or whether Sands will move forward with developing the Irving property.
Many residents cautioned that the company won’t give up on gambling.
As one resident quipped, “Sands isn’t changing their goal; they’re just willing to take Irving on a second date.”
“Team Sands will now pretend they don’t want gaming in Irving until they get a friendlier council,” Canosa posted on X. “If their pro-casino candidates get across the finish line, they’ll bring it back in a heartbeat.”
Three Irving City Council seats are on the May 3 ballot, for Districts 1, 2, and 7. Bloch is running for re-election to Place 1, but Places 2 and 7 are open seats.
