DBJ dove into May runoff campaign finance reports to track the influence of Adelson and her family as they make a push for the legalization of casino gambling in TX.
DALLAS — Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the Dallas Business Journal here.
Billionaire Miriam Adelson made a big bet ahead of the May 28 runoff elections in Texas and like those who have spent money in her casinos, she got mixed results.
Adelson, part of the new majority ownership group of the Dallas Mavericks and head of the family that controls Las Vegas Sands Corp., cut a $9 million check on May 6 to fund a newly launched political action committee, the Texas Defense PAC, according to a May 20 campaign finance report. Filings show the PAC then spent more than $3.3 million on advertising, canvassing and polling for five Republican candidates in runoff elections, including incumbent House Speaker Dade Phelan, who faced a challenge from the far right.
Phelan prevailed in a tight race while three of the other candidates the Texas Defense PAC supported lost, including incumbent North Texas Reps. Frederick Frazier and Justin Holland. Fort Worth businessman John McQueeney, who received almost $1.3 million from the Texas Defense PAC, edged out Cheryl Bean in his race to win the nomination for the House District 97 seat representing southwest Tarrant County.
All of the spendings comes after Adelson and her family finalized their purchase of a majority stake in the Mavericks from longtime owner Mark Cuban on Dec. 27. Dallas Business Journal dove into the May runoff campaign finance reports to track the influence of Adelson and her family as they make a push for the legalization of casino gambling in Texas.
Sands, the Adelsons and Cuban, who maintains a 27% share of the NBA franchise and still oversee basketball operations, have floated the idea of building a resort casino in the Dallas area that would be anchored by a new arena.
The Texas Sands PAC, another group linked to the casino empire, contributed $648,000 between Feb. 25 and May 18. Las Vegas Sands launched the PAC in January 2022 with $2.3 million of initial funding from Adelson.
A spokesman for Las Vegas Sands declined to comment.
Phelan received more than $660,000 from Adelson and the associated PACs during the most recent fundraising period. That’s on top of the $200,000 the Texas Sands PAC contributed prior to the March primary. Patrick Dumont, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands, also personally contributed $50,000 to the campaign in April. In addition to his role at Las Vegas Sands, Dumont replaced Cuban as governor of the Mavericks.
As speaker, Phelan has expressed an openness to considering destination casinos in Texas. He faced opposition from the far right wing of the GOP and Attorney General Ken Paxton after he supported the House’s impeachment of Paxton last year.
While the spending for Phelan led to a win, other races didn’t pan out in favor of Adelson and Las Vegas Sands.
Frazier received $546,000 in his losing race against Keresa Richardson to continue representing a district that includes McKinney, Anna, Celina, Frisco, Melissa, Prosper, and Frisco in Collin County. Justin Holland, who represents Rockwall County and a portion of Collin County, received more than $610,000 in his loss to Katrina Pierson.
John Kuempel of Seguin lost in his bid to retain the House District 44 seat after receiving more than $514,000 in contributions from the Texas Defense PAC and Texas Sands PAC.
In one of the more surprising revelations from the latest round of campaign finance filings, the Texas Sands PAC contributed $200,000 to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in March. Patrick, who presides over the Senate, has remained strictly opposed to gambling.
Patrick told KTVT-TV in December he has met Miriam Adelson “a number of times” and considers her “a delightful lady.” But he said her acquisition of a majority stake in the Mavs does not impact the legislative process.
“I continue to tell the people who are interested in [legalizing gambling], like any other bill we pass, you have to get the members to support it,” Patrick said. “You can’t take a shortcut and say, well if the governor says vote for it or the lieutenant governor or the speaker, then it happens.”
Entities affiliated with Sands last summer acquired 259 acres in Irving, which some have speculated could become home to a potential casino development, although the company has downplayed that it has any immediate plans.