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Miriam Adelson poured $4.1 million into a political action committee in Texas ahead of March's primary elections — signaling her increased interest in Lone Star State politics amid efforts to legalize gambling.
Adelson, part of the new majority ownership group of the Dallas Mavericks and head of the family that controls Las Vegas Sands Corp., made the contribution to the Texas Sands PAC on Feb. 6, according to a Feb. 26 campaign finance report. Her contribution came two months after her family finalized its purchase of a majority stake in the Mavericks from longtime owner Mark Cuban on Dec. 27.
Dallas Business Journal dove into the February campaign finance reports to examine the influence of Adelson and her family heading into next year's legislative session.
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), a casino company that generated more than $10 billion in revenue in 2023, also contributed $9,000 to the PAC between December and February. The company launched the PAC in January 2022 with $2.3 million of initial funding from Adelson.
The campaign finance report shows Texas Sands PAC spent $1.9 million supporting 35 candidates in primary races this year — an average of nearly $56,000 each. A spokesperson for Las Vegas Sands could not immediately be reached for comment.
House Speaker Dade Phelan received the largest contribution at $200,000 in his heated state representative primary race. Phelan, a Republican from Beaumont, came in second to David Covey in the primary and the two are headed to a May runoff. Phalen has feuded with the far right wing of the GOP and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who backs Covey. Phelan supported the House's impeachment of Paxton last year.
North Texas politicians whose campaigns received funding from the PAC included Rep. Frederick Frazier with $79,000, Rep. Justin Holland with $79,000, Rep. Charlie Geren with $60,000, Rep. Venton Jones with $54,000, Rep. Angie Chen Button with $29,000, Rep. Ben Bumgarner with $29,000, Rep. Morgan Meyer with $29,000 and Rep. Jeff Leach with $15,000.
Almost all were Republicans, which is no surprise given that the GOP dominates the Texas statehouse. However, Jones is a Democrat representing parts of western, southern and eastern Dallas.
The PAC maintained nearly $2.6 million in its war chest, as of late February.
The Adelsons and Sands have spent millions on lobbying in recent years. For the legislative session in 2021, Sands hired 76 lobbyists and spent $6.7 million in Austin, according to the Dallas Morning News. Gambling legislation failed to pass.
Last year, Sands hired 89 lobbyists, according to Bloomberg. As of the first week of the session, Sands had pledged more than $5.9 million to its lobbyists, according to the Morning News. Again, nothing passed.
Adelson also personally contributed $3,300 to support Gov. Greg Abbott's successful reelection campaign in 2022.
Sands, the Adelsons and Cuban, who maintains a 27% share of the NBA franchise and still oversees basketball operations, have floated the idea of building a resort casino in the Dallas area that would be anchored by a new arena.
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.
Patrick Dumont, who replaced Cuban as governor of the Mavs and is also president and chief operating officer of Sands, told investors in January that the company sees a lot of potential in Texas and "is actively trying to facilitate the development of integrated resorts in the state ... and through the legalization of gaming."
"We're very excited about it," he said at the time. "We think it's an unbelievable market. Over time, we hope that it happens. I can't tell you when it's going to be, but we're very focused on it as a company, and we'd like the opportunity to develop some very unique tourism assets, specifically in Dallas. You know, we think that's a great market."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details from the financial filings of Texas Sands PAC.
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