Over in Texas, a state senator is defending campaign donations he’s received, saying it isn’t connected to his push to legalize gambling in Texas. Per a recent article from a national outlet, Texas State Senator Nathan Johnson clarified that the two campaign donations he received from a Political Action Committee linked to the Las Vegas Sands Corporation were not part of a coordinated effort. This was alleged to be concerning his decision to file a resolution for voters to consider legalizing gambling in Texas. “Filing a bill to allow the voters to lift a constitutional ban on gaming is consistent with my general philosophy that if the legislature is not in touch, the people can take action on their own,” Johnson said. The Senator, who represents parrots of Dallas, Irving, among other areas, filed Senate Joint Resolution 82 as Irving residents fought with the Sands Corp. over land.
For this article, SBS will be going over what to look for from the latest gaming news coming from Texas, along with some additional notes and thoughts regarding wagering in the state and more.
Also covered in this article, the Sands Corp. wants to build a world-class destination resort in Irving. While the company has received zoning approval in the heat of protest, Sands withdrew the casino portion of the project before the city council could vote, the same report reads. Those who were against the project speculated Irving would be used as a bargaining chip for Texas lawmakers to legalize gambling.
Even if lawmakers wanted to do so, voters must agree to remove any constitutional ban at the polls in November. Enter SJR 82, the report says. “If this resolution were to go to voters and the voters were to approve the resolution, there would still be no such thing as destination resort casino gaming or any other kind of gaming legal in Texas as a result,” Johnson said. “What the bill does do is remove a constitutional prohibition on any form of gaming, however strictly regulated.”
Johnson said a voter-approved effort would head back to Austin, where lawmakers could agree to legalize gambling. If the votes were in favor of making gambling legal in Texas, Johnson’s resolution suggests setting up a commission to regulate no more than 10 casino licenses. Each license, at a cost, would have a 40-year term.
“Conference centers for businesses, you would have performance centers for popular music and classical music,” Johnson said. “You could have a small sports arena in the space, and you could have hotels and spas and other things that people like to go to, restaurants, and part of it would be casino gaming.”
Noted in the same article, Johnson’s pitch sounds much like the one Sands gave the citizens of Irving with a destination hotel, a sports arena that could have become the new home of the Dallas Mavericks, spas, retail, and so on the report notes.
However, Johnson said it was “happenstance” because he had no relationship with the Sands Corp. He said the issue had been on his radar for the past six years. “I do not have a relationship any more than I have a relationship with anybody else who’s interested in the government process here. I have meetings with people in my office all day long, every day,” Johnson said.
Additionally, the national outlet looked at online campaign finance records and found two donations to the senator from the Sands’ political action committee, Texas Sands PAC. The checks were $4,500 each. A representative said that Johnson could not offer comment for clarification due to the legislative session. The senator’s office acknowledged the donations but said the money had no bearing on SJR 82. Additionally, Johnson’s office said many political colleagues had received donations from the same PAC.
According to Transparency USA, many state leaders have received money from the multimillion-dollar gambling PAC, like former Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan ($315,000), Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick ($200k), and Gov. Greg Abbott ($200k), to name a few. Meanwhile, Johnson emphasized the importance of legislative resources, especially in light of potential significant federal spending cuts that could severely impact Texas.
“It is always a good thing for a legislature to have the resources to do the things that we need to do, particularly when we are looking at federal cuts in spending on a massive scale, which will probably hit Texas really, really hard,” he said.
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About the Author
As a devout aficionado of sports, Chris Boline has carved a career within the athletic realm. A skilled scribe, he boasts a decade-long portfolio that encompasses coverage of the NBA G League, the Los Angeles Chargers, football and basketball across the country. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is deeply invested in his community and dedicates his leisure hours to serving on boards, collaborating with community organizations, and cherishing the company of loved ones. CURRENTLY Business Development and freelance sports writing RESIDES IN Reno, NV EDUCATION University of Nevada BS and MBA EXPERTISE -Sports writing proficiency in: NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and some motor sports -Topical news -Promotional and marketing ideas/updates -Business development Summary Chris Boline serves in a business development sales capacity as his day job. He has previously held sales/marketing positions with The Applied Companies (TAC), KTVN 2 News and the NBA G League’s Reno Bighorns, affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. He is a Reno native and is a member of various community boards including the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET and the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA). Chris graduated from the University of Nevada in 2015 with a bachelors in management and economics and also earned his MBA from Nevada in 2023. More about Chris: Past president of the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA) 2022-23 Two-time honoree for University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year (Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, 2017 & COBAA, 2021) 2021 NCET award for Professional Services Organization of the Year with TAC Northern Nevada Human Resources Association 2020 Best Places to Work-Northern Nevada, Second Place with TAC 2016-17 Reno Bighorns MVP from the Sacramento Kings The Nevada Sagebrush editor-in-chief 2013-15 Associated Collegiate Press 2015 Four-year Non-daily Newspaper Pacemaker honoree University of Nevada, Reno College of Business Dean's List honoree (5x) from 2011-2015 Nevada Press Association award for Best Sports Column – Community in 2015 Education
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