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Miriam Adelson is one of the richest people on the planet. Her net worth is over $30 billion thanks to the Las Vegas Sands gambling empire, which was co-built with her husband, Sheldon. Still, she can’t buy a win even without all that money.
First, the NBA team she spent billions of dollars to buy from Marc Cuban is in disarray. It traded away its franchise player Luka Doncic — a move that Adelson signed off on — and got back a player, Anthony Davis, who got hurt in his first game with Dallas. The Mavs new best player, Kyrie Irving, tore his ACL a few weeks later and now the team might not even make the playoffs per top NBA betting sites.
The latest loss might be the most costly to Adelson’s empire though. Her ambitious plan to bring a $4 billion “destination casino resort” to the site of the former Texas Stadium in Irving — a suburb of Dallas — has been gutted. After months of mounting public resistance and little movement on gambling legislation in Texas, Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) withdrew the casino component from its zoning request just hours before a crucial city council vote.
The abrupt pivot came on March 20 during a City Council work session, capping a contentious public process that began in mid-January but only drew widespread attention in late February when the zoning proposal went before local officials. By early Friday morning, the Irving City Council voted 6-3 in favor of a revised zoning ordinance that excluded any permissions for gambling.
The retreat by one of the world’s largest casino operators reflects both the challenges of winning over local communities and the broader political deadlock in Texas, where attempts to legalize betting have repeatedly stalled.
“The economics will not work without a casino”
LVS executive Mark Boekenheide, who oversees the company’s global real estate projects, addressed the council during Thursday’s work session. While he made clear the company wasn’t abandoning the development entirely, he emphasized that the original $4 billion proposal hinged on legalized casino gaming.
“I cannot commit to building a 4 million-square-foot project and spend $4 billion; the economics will not work without a casino piece,” Boekenheide told the council.
He explained that the decision to drop the gaming component was driven by two major factors: the vocal opposition from Irving residents and the ongoing lack of legislative support in Austin, the state’s capital.
“At this time, given the current status of gaming expansion legislation in the state and certainly some of the concerns that are being spoken in our several meetings here, Sands has asked the Irving city council to remove the destination resort and gaming component from the proposal initially sent to you and instead consider approval of the balance of the uses in the rezoning entitlement,” Boekenheide said earlier in the week.
Opposition grows louder and louder
That growing opposition came into full view at a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting held March 18, where public comment stretched from the afternoon into the early hours of Tuesday. The commission ultimately voted 5-4 to recommend the proposal with the casino included, but the vote followed hours of heated testimony, nearly all of it critical.
By Thursday, more than 170 people had signed up to speak before the council. Though LVS had already stripped the gambling portion from the proposal, every speaker who addressed the council cited concerns about public safety, gambling addiction, and the city’s family-friendly image. Some framed their opposition in moral or religious terms — this is still conservative Texas after all — while others questioned the long-term economic benefit to local residents. These worries came to a head during those meetings.
It Won’t Get Any Easier For The Sands
LVS biggest foes here ain’t even the Irving locals. Nope, it’s the political bigwigs. You see, in Texas, legalizing commercial casinos would require a constitutional amendment — meaning two-thirds support in both chambers of the legislature and a statewide vote. Getting that type of support feels like a long shot at this point.
The Senate’s leader — Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick — has openly shot down attempts at legalizing Texas betting of that kind. The state’s Republican Party has it in their platform to oppose any bills that would legalize gambling.
Despite that pushback, LVS has invested heavily in Texas politics. Reports show that Adelson has sunk more than $13 million into political causes ahead of the 2025 session — quadrupling her contributions from the previous cycle. Perhaps she’s feeling buyer remorse given all that’s happened? You have to wonder at this point.
What’s next for LVS?
LVS plans are not dead, but they’re certainly on hold in Texas. Perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise though because now they can shift their full focus to New York betting. The company is also one of 11 bidders competing for three downstate casino licenses in New York. LVS has proposed a $6 billion development at the Nassau Coliseum site in Long Island with bids due in June and licenses expected to be awarded by the end of the year.
That NYC casino has the potential to be even bigger than their Texas plans, but winning a license won’t be easy. For now, the city’s vote closes one chapter in the saga — but the future of both the site and LVS’s broader Texas plans remains uncertain.
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