Thousands Sign Petition Opposing LVS Texas Casino Plan

• Residents petition against proposed Las Vegas Sands casino.
• Casino plan depends on Texas legalizing gambling.
• Irving council to vote on zoning approval Monday.
  

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Commercial casino gaming may be illegal in Texas, but that didn’t stop thousands of residents of the city of Irving, a Dallas suburb, signing a petition against Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) building a casino there in the future.

The petition, on Change.org, seeks to prevent Irving City Council from approving a proposed mixed-use entertainment district that would include a casino in the event that the Texas legislature legalizes gaming. It had almost 3,000 signatures as of midday Friday.

LVS has proposed redeveloping a 259 acre-plot near the former Texas Stadium, home to the Dallas Cowboys from 1971 to 2008. The casino giant purchased the land, known as PUD 6, in mid-2023, just months before Miriam Adelson, the widow of LVS founder Sheldon Adelson, bought a controlling stake in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

Designs on Texas

LVS has long had designs on Texas, which it sees as the final frontier of commercial gaming expansion in the US, with the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex the favored location of a future resort. The company has spent millions of dollars lobbying politicians in the state as it seeks to affect policy change.

Casino.org reported in January that Texans were being barraged with television ads supporting the approval of commercial casinos from an LVS-backed political action committee, the Texas Destination Resort Alliance.

Irving’s planning and zoning commission is scheduled to vote on whether to approve the proposed development Monday. If advanced, it will go in front of the city council March 20, Kera News reports.

LVS wants to build a destination integrated resort with a hotel and convention center, retail, and entertainment space, plus a 15,000-seat arena for the Dallas Mavericks. One councilmember last month called it “perhaps the most transformational project in Irving’s history.” However, the company has indicated the project will not proceed without a casino.

‘Take Action’

The petition, created by local resident Irving Droughton, urges residents to take action to stop the rezoning because it “threatens the safety, stability, and future of our city.”

Instead of relying on a casino that preys on our most vulnerable citizens, we should focus on developments that truly benefit Irving—like small businesses, green spaces, and family-friendly attractions,” the petition says.

Of course, not everyone in Irving is against the casino. A competing petition entitled “Approve the Rezoning of PUD 6 for a Destination Resort & New Home for the Mavericks” had garnered 90 signatures on Friday.

The legalization of casino gaming in Texas would require a constitutional amendment, which would need to be approved by a two-thirds supermajority in the legislature and then by a majority of voters in a statewide referendum.