Texas Casinos

The petition was filed a month after the Irving City Council approved rezoning for a destination resort near the site where Texas Stadium once stood.

State representatives have introduced a bill that would make it harder to protest rezoning requests like one sought by Las Vegas Sands in Irving.

Las Vegas Sand Corp. dropped the casino portion of its Irving rezoning request after a lengthy meeting earlier in the week, during which opponents of the plan turned out in droves.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. bought land in an area that includes the spot that once held Texas Stadium. Residents are concerned about plans to build a casino — if Texas legalizes gambling.

A proposed mixed-use development that would include a destination resort with casino gaming has received both support and opposition from area residents.

The city of Irving could approve rezoning an area that would allow for casino gaming in the event that casino gambling is legalized in Texas. Residents are pushing back.

Irving Planning and Zoning Commission will vote next week on proposed zoning for a destination resort connected to the Las Vegas Sands Corp. on the site of the former Texas Stadium, but critics are against its potential for casino gambling.

The Texas Constitution requires voter approval to authorize gambling in Texas, but the issue has traditionally faced intense opposition from religious groups, various law enforcement advocates and state lawmakers who don’t want to see gaming in the Lone Star State.

With plenty of patience and money, the industry is extending its multi-year campaign to bring legal casinos and sports betting to the state.

Given the stiff headwinds to getting any expansion in gambling passed, sports betting and casino advocates may be competing against each other, rather than working in tandem.

Doling out committee assignments and talking about the surplus are just a few of the things lawmakers have on the agenda in the early weeks of the session.

At the start of his second term leading the lower chamber, Dade Phelan talked to reporters about several legislative issues that will be decided this year.