Dallas Mavericks governor Mark Cuban and the family that controls the Las Vegas Sands Corp. are betting that the Texas Legislature will one day allow voters to approve casino gambling.
The pending sale of a majority stake in the Mavericks to Miriam Adelson, the widow of Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, indicates the gaming company views Texas gambling expansion as a strong possibility, if not a certainty.
There are still considerable obstacles.
Allowing casino gambling, even the splashy resorts envisioned by Cuban and Sands, is a tough sell in the Legislature. Historically, efforts to expand gaming have taken many years, sometimes decades.
Cuban likely hopes that selling a majority stake of the Mavericks to Adelson will mollify wary lawmakers, because she would be transformed into a local figure instead of an out-of-towner looking to expand her business interest to the Texas market.
