Las Vegas Sands Becomes the Majority Owner of Dallas Mavericks
The family behind the Las Vegas Sands Corp. has been officially approved as the new majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. The league’s board of governors announced approval of the deal on Wednesday and the transaction is expected to finalize this week.
Casino mogul Miriam Adelson takes over a majority stake in the franchise and Sands is expected to spearhead business operations while Cuban retains control of the basketball side of the business. The deal was announced in late November and comes as Cuban is seeking to build a new arena as part of a larger Dallas-area resort that would include a casino.
“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 told the Dallas Morning News in 2022. “That’s the mission.”
Long-term Plans for Arena-Casino Venue
Whether that happens remains to be seen as casinos and sports betting aren’t legal in Texas. Legislators have considered casino gambling and sports betting in recent years, but none of those attempts even made it out of committee.
The Texas Legislature also only meets every two years, so any other attempts at legalized casinos would have to wait until 2025. Beyond that, any gambling expansion would then need approval by the state’s citizens via constitutional amendment.
That hasn’t stopped Cuban from pursuing the issue and Sands has reportedly already made at least one land purchase for the possibility of future arena and casino resort construction. D magazine recently reported that Sands purchased 108 acres near the former home of the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Stadium. That venue was imploded in 2010 and a recent sale was registered to Las Vegas Sands Corp.
With Adelsen now as majority owner, her son-in-law Patrick Dumont is expected to lead the team and serve on the NBA board of governors for the franchise. He also serves as president and CEO of Sands.
The deal reportedly gives Adelson a $3.5 billion stake in the Mavericks. Cuban purchased the team in 2000 for $285 million. He has long believed in adding a casino to the mix and feels Sands offers the best chance at making that happen. Sands has also spent considerable funds in recent years lobbying in the state in an attempt to legalize casinos.
Cuban also recently announced another major move, saying he would bow out of his role on ABC’s Shark Tank after the 16th season in 2024-25. The Mavericks currently sit sixth in the western conference and have odds of +2500 to win the NBA championship this season, according to ESPN Bet.
Pennsylvania Casino Worker Alleged to Have Stolen Five Figures
In other casino news, a manager at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh was arrested this week for allegedly stealing $20,000 from the property’s main cage. As most gamblers know, casinos feature advanced surveillance systems and the “eye in the sky” ultimately helped nab this alleged thief as well.
Pennsylvania state police reported that the employee was caught on video while cleaning a cash storage area in the cage on Dec. 4 at about 4:30 a.m.
Police allege Yancy Yeater, 41, looked to be organizing the cash but instead hid two bundles of $100 bills under a cleaning rag and later pocketed the money. Authorities say Yeater then entered the restroom to hide the bundles somewhere on his body before exiting the casino.
Rivers security reported the alleged crime on Dec. 23 and state police arrested the suspect when he arrived at work on the same day. Yeater was booked into the Allegheny County Jail and has been charged with felony theft.
Casino cash appears just too tempting to some on occasion and this is just the latest crime seen at casinos in 2023. In September, a Michigan man responsible for servicing Gun Lake Casino’s cash machines was charged with stealing almost $83,000 from the machines on a total of 32 separate occasions over 14 months.
Police allege Jordan Lewis Cook’s duties included unclogging currency jams in cash machines. Once that was complete, Coo’s plea agreement notes that “he would also steal cash from the machine.” He pleaded guilty and faces up to five years in prison.
Also in September, an employee at Aria casino in Las Vegas allegedly embezzled funds from the property. Police say Brandon Rashaad Johnson, 38, stole $773,000 from July 2022 to July 2023 by directing 209 refunds to his own checking account
Police allege Johnson spent large amounts of cash on luxury purchases. He now faces several theft charges along with other felony charges including money laundering, attempted money laundering, and unlawful felony act regarding computers.
In August, police arrested and charged Danika Young, 38, stole $700,000 from the Four Winds Casino in Michigan. She now faces embezzlement charges.
