Las Vegas Sands Advocates for Voter Decision on Gaming Legislation
Las Vegas Sands hotel and casino hopes to bring their resort to Texas, eyeing several different locations including the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. However, with gambling currently illegal in Texas, the corporation is lobbying for the Texas Legislature to allow Texans to vote whether to legalize gaming. They are currently visiting with community leaders across the state to educate Texans on the potential economic impact destination gaming could have on our state economy.
Las Vegas Sands is an integrated resort company that focuses on creating a positive impact in the community by bringing in tourism, supporting local businesses, generating jobs for residents, and overall aiding the host communities they reside in. With six resorts around the globe, Las Vegas Sands aspires to make Texas their next investment.
Vice president of Las Vegas Sands, Andy Abboud came to speak to the McKinney Chamber about what the company wishes to bring to Dallas and the economic benefits that casinos can have for the community. He also came prepared to address negative perceptions voters had about casinos.
“This is an opportunity for everyone in the metroplex, and people with businesses in McKinney in particular have a greater economic opportunity and access to new markets and business opportunities,” Abboud said.
Casino Gambling and sports betting made an appearance in Texas legislation in 2023 but did not pass in the house. The proposed bill aimed to amend the state constitution to legalize casino gambling and bring in eight destination resorts around Texas, two located in the DFW area. Though many legislatures supported the bill because of the profit that the resorts could bring, many were concerned about gambling addiction, crime, and human trafficking that could increase with these resorts on Texas soil. Many Texas legislators were concerned that the negative social impacts casinos could have outweighed the economic advantages gambling could bring.
However, Las Vegas Sands continues to push for the bill to be considered again so Texas residents can vote on whether they want casino gambling and sports betting in the state.
“What we explain to the legislators is you are not voting to legalize casinos,” Abboud said. “We keep saying let the voters decide. You are giving them the opportunity to vote on this. And it’s up to them to do, and it’ll be very specific transparent proposals.”
“The fact is that good jobs and good investments reduce crime and provide for more economic opportunity and provide more resources for the issues that you’re concerned about,” Abboud said, emphasizing the potential benefits where casinos are located.
Abboud explained that if the bill was passed, Las Vegas Sands would compete with other resort hotels and spas to decide which companies will get their license to build the resort and casino in Texas. Every company that is interested must “outdo each other” by showing their companies best practices, customer care, and how they give back to the company.
Las Vegas Sands prioritizes community care, responding to the unique issues in the community that it’s investing in. As of June 2024, Sands donated $100,000 to Teach For America Nevada for recruitment efforts and the RootED fellowship to assist with retention of high-performing teachers in Southern Nevada.
In addition, Las Vegas Sands focuses on the issue of human trafficking, bringing their “best practices” for dealing with the issues, including training their employees to spot traffickers on the casino floor.
“There is nothing about a casino that causes an increase in human trafficking,” Abboud said. “Large scale public events like the Super Bowl, large scale public events like a national championship game or any increase in visitation anywhere in the world causes an increase in alcohol abuse [and] human trafficking.”
Abboud also explained Sands’ commitment to aiding and educating those dealing with alcohol and drug addictions.
“We feel the best use of our time and resources at a federal level and across the country is to provide a focus on those issues and try and find the best relations and to teach people about the best practices in dealing with that,” Abboud said.
Many steps need to be taken for corporations like Las Vegas Sands to bring casinos into Texas, but Sands is ready to take the next step to bring their luxury hotel to our back yard.
“If Texas is going to wait this long to get into the game, then it should be done in the way the Texans do,” Abboud said. “It should be bigger and better than everyone else and bigger and better than Las Vegas”
Written By Heather Aldridge, Editorial Intern | McKinney Chamber of Commerce
