Mark Cuban Selling Majority Stake In NBA Mavericks To Las Vegas Sands Corp.
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A major Las Vegas casino group may be getting into the basketball business. News broke on Tuesday that Mark Cuban is selling a majority ownership stake in the Dallas Mavericks to the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
The deal would still leave Cuban running basketball operations for the NBA franchise, while adding a partner that he’s long sought to partner with on a new Dallas casino resort and arena project. That’s if Texas legalizes gambling, of course.
The deal is headed by Sands’ late founder and CEO Sheldon Adelson’s wife Miriam Adelson, and is believed to value the team at more than $3 billion.
“Adelson, listed as the fifth-richest woman in the world by Forbes with an estimated net worth of more than $33 billion, revealed in a company announcement and a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that she is selling $2 billion worth of company stock in Sands Corp. — roughly 10% of her stake in the company — to fund the ‘purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franchise pursuant to a binding purchase agreement, subject to customary league approvals,’” NBA writer Marc Stein reported.
Is Casino Gaming The Goal?
The potential ownership shakeup leaves Cuban partnering with a company that could potentially make his casino-arena dream a reality. The entrepreneur spoke of his desire for the project in early November, saying that he was working with Sands to make it happen.
“When you think of all the places you want to save up to vacation, Texas isn’t one of them,” Cuban told the Dallas Morning News. “There’s no real destination that you save up for. That’s a problem and I think resort gaming would have a huge impact.”
“My goal, and we’d partner with Las Vegas Sands, is when we build a new arena it’ll be in the middle of a resort and casino,” Cuban added. “That’s the mission.”
Uphill Battle Ahead
Sands used to run the Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas before selling the land to Vici Properties and the operations to Apollo Global Management in early 2022, choosing instead to focus on projects in Macau and Singapore. But adding a Texas casino to that portfolio won’t be easy, despite Cuban’s desires and the late Sheldon Adelson’s lobbying efforts in the state.
Proposals in the legislature this year didn’t produce any results. And since the Texas legislature only meets every two years, further efforts will have to wait until 2025. Any bill passed would also need voter approval to amend the state constitution.
While casino gaming hasn’t taken hold, the Texas poker scene continues to grow with clubs popping up around the state. The rooms have steered clear of most legal issues by essentially functioning as social clubs, with players paying hourly fees or monthly dues instead of traditional rake.
The Lodge Card Club, located in the Austin area and co-owned by poker pros Doug Polk, Andrew Neeme, and Brad Owen, set a state record in August with a tournament that brought in 5,750 entries. Mexico’s Mauro Avila took the title for $250,000.
