Texas legislation on casinos, sports wagering dies in committees
A bid to allow casino resorts in Texas appears to have died, as a joint resolution and sports-betting bills failed to get out of legislative committees Monday.
Proposed legislation allowing casino resorts did not meet the deadline for passage in the State Affairs Committee.
The bill would have allowed Texas voters to consider whether to allow integrated resorts with casinos in the state’s four largest metropolitan areas: Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. has supported the legislation, hiring lobbyists in January in an effort to persuade lawmakers to support the development of casinos. Andy Abboud, Sands’ senior vice president of government relations, indicated Monday that efforts would continue.
“We have said from the beginning that we’re committed to Texas for the long haul,” Abboud said Monday. “We have made great strides this session and have enjoyed meeting with lawmakers about our vision for destination resorts and answering all the questions they have.”
A separate bill on sports wagering backed by the state’s professional sports franchises also appears headed for demise.
A House bill to legalize sports betting got a hearing before the State Affairs Committee last month but never received a vote before Monday’s deadline. A similar Senate bill never got a committee hearing.
Texas’ legislative session is scheduled to adjourn May 31.
“Our commitment is to develop transformational destination resorts that create tens of thousands of jobs and produce billions in revenue for the state while also providing robust economic benefits to the local host communities,” Sands CEO Rob Goldstein said in an emailed statement earlier this year. “Destination resorts have proven to be excellent drivers of economic growth and enhanced tourism, and we are excited about the possibility of bringing the concept to the Lone Star State.”
Sands is looking to new opportunities for the company after announcing March 3 that it was selling the real estate beneath The Venetian, Palazzo and Sands Expo and Convention Center on the Las Vegas Strip to Vici Properties Inc., and selling the cash flow of those properties to Apollo Global Management Inc. for a total of $6.25 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
Ever since Sands disclosed last fall that it was considering selling its Las Vegas assets, the company’s leaders have said they want to focus on Asian properties in Macao and Singapore and look for new investment opportunities.
The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Sheldon Adelson, the late chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Las Vegas Sands operates The Venetian and Palazzo.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.
