Destination Resorts in Texas

[Chop]

What’s In The Legislation?​

Luxury Amenities​

State-of-the-art entertainment facilities, four- to five-star hotels, casino gaming, live performance venues, destination retail shopping, spas, and more.

Thousands of New Jobs​

Each new project would create thousands of construction jobs, and tens of thousands of permanent new jobs in new and existing hotels, convention centers, restaurants, retail centers, and offices.

Funding for Education​

Revenue raised from these new sites could provide funding for public education and public higher education, for the arts as well as for public safety and law enforcement.

Economic Benefits​

This measure would bring billions of dollars back to Texas from bordering states, to boost the state’s economy. Texans would see several billion dollars invested into the state and billions for local services they rely on.

​

PAID FOR BY LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP.

 

[Chop]

Adelson (RIP) was the Anti-Soros

 

[Chop]

Adelson (RIP) was the Anti-Soros

HIs widow Miriam carries on the fight

$31B

Real Time Net Worth​

as of 2/13/25
#59 in the world today
per Forbes

(not that anybody's counting...)

• She bought a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks NBA team from Mark Cuban in late 2023.
• Long known as a GOP megadonor, both alongside Sheldon and after his death, Adelson is a top backer of Donald Trump.
• She's a medical doctor

 

[Chop]

Maybe we'll get Gondola rides in the Texas "Destination Resort".

 

[nashhorn]

Chop that sounds as though taken word for word out of those movies depicting the sales speak to the tribes selling them on building casinos on their land.

 

[Chop]

History on gambling in Arlington, TX.

Generations ago, an illicit and illegal casino operated where Arlington Baptist College is today. It's proprietor, none other than Benny Binion himself. And he was a very dangerous man, with very dangerous associates, you did not want to cross. Apparently, even the real Mafia gave him his space in DFW, and later in the Vegas downtown area, and they each gave mutual respect.

After Texas clamped down on that sort of thing, and Nevada had legal gambling, he took his gambling operation there and Binion's Horseshoe was born.

 

[Chop]

Maybe we'll get Gondola rides in the Texas "Destination Resort".

Of course, a pirate ship battle would be even better!

 

[SabreHorn]

For the last 20+ years, the Texas legislature has had someone try to place a rider on a bill that would easily pass. That rider would have allowed casino gambling on any "man-made island" in Texas. There are only TWO - Pleasure Island in Port Arthur & the island in the Port of Galveston. If you visit the port, you will see that the loading of ships has been moved down the port away from the island.

When George Mitchell revitalized his hometown, he passed on The Galvez and the old Jack Tar to build his luxury hotel on top of the old ammo depots. First time I walked in there, I immediately thought, "wakeup Vegas, here comes George & Cynthia".

Glamorous resorts...yeah in the commercials. Then you go into a big smoky cavern where decrepit old folks drag oxygen bottles from slot machine to slot machine. Gambling addiction is real and ain't nothing glamorous for the families impacted.

Every one of those old women has a bag of pennies. They get off the bus, walk in, sit down, and play penny slots for hours before returning to the bus. Go visit any of Vicksburg's FIVE casinos and talk to the employees. Most all of the employees (hotel maids, drivers, etc) make less than $5 an hour. They will quickly tell you that NO ONE that comes off one of those buses tips.

As for the investment in Arlington, the Indians are allowed to buy/build certain things with their money, the rest being in Albuquerque at the BIA for the federal government to try to steal. Ask the FDIC, whose employees are so ******* dumb that they don't know their own insurance laws. Fortunately for the BIA, they have a friend that knows the law and kicked the FDIC's *** in court. The last consolidatING statement I saw on one of the Indian owned casinos showed that the members of the tribe got less than 10% of the profits.

Although I'm not old enough to have visited any of them, but we had open casinos in Southeast Texas when I was growing up. I learned when I got older that one of my best friend's father was the GM at the Spindletop Motel (between South Park Drive-in and Yvonne's nightclub) just before you got the Broussard's Curve in Beaumont. It was shut down in the comedy of errors known as the "James raids" - 580+ indictments; ZERO convictions. Everyone was represented by the same attorney, Joe Tonahill from Jasper, who would later be defense attorney for Jack Ruby.

Legalized gambling is not an economic boom, particularly in an area with a large percentage minorities. The "Golden Triangle" ain't ever gonna be a destination unless you're burying a relative.

 

[Garmel]

Casinos bring money and jobs. The funny part is that I don't gamble but I don't think government should be involved in our lives.

The Economics of Casinos: How Gaming Revenue Shapes Local Economies

Casinos have been tied closely with increased economic activity, influencing everything from local employment to broader regional development. Casinos contribute to local economies in several profound ways.

www.finsmes.com

 

[Horn6721]

I agree. I don't gamble. Can see both sides of the issue
BUT the casinos in Shreveport are nothing like Winstar where it is a "destination". That is what is being proposed here. Upscale places with golf swimming biking etcetc, Big name concerts luxe resturants etc.

 

[BrntOrngStmpeDe]

I don't have ANY faith in the developers that promise tangential benefits. They will inevitably write the deal with lots of outs and the cities are left holding the bag until/unless they hit it big. And if it does hit big, then the city will get very little of the big upside. It is almost always a very lopsided.

 

[Chop]

I agree. I don't gamble. Can see both sides of the issue
BUT the casinos in Shreveport are nothing like Winstar where it is a "destination". That is what is being proposed here. Upscale places with golf swimming biking etcetc, Big name concerts luxe resturants etc.

Yeah, the Winstar is a pretty nice venue.

 

[Horn6721]

BOSD
You bring up an interesting question
Is it" Destination Resort "if it is in or close to a city?
We know the new Mavericks owner envisions a destination resort where the Mavericks also play.
Thinking of Arlington and the Rangers( lots of home games)people do plan destination trips that include attending a Ranger game BUT that is mostly over summer.
Would people from Houston or San Antonio or anywhere plan a destination trip in Nov _ May to attend a Maverick home game?
Does Winstar work because it is a few hours from a city?

 

[ViperHorn]

That rider would have allowed casino gambling on any "man-made island" in Texas. There are only TWO - Pleasure Island in Port Arthur & the island in the Port of Galveston. If you visit the port, you will see that the loading of ships has been moved down the port away from the island.

Technically three. Panther Island in Ft. Worth is/will be basically man-made when the City finishes with its plans.

 

[Chop]

Technically three. Panther Island in Ft. Worth is/will be basically man-made when the City finishes with its plans.

The only thing that could make all this better is if the Binion family built a legal casino on Panther Island in Ft Worth. Things would then have come full circle.

 

[BrntOrngStmpeDe]

BOSD
You bring up an interesting question
Is it" Destination Resort "if it is in or close to a city?
We know the new Mavericks owner envisions a destination resort where the Mavericks also play.
Thinking of Arlington and the Rangers( lots of home games)people do plan destination trips that include attending a Ranger game BUT that is mostly over summer.
Would people from Houston or San Antonio or anywhere plan a destination trip in Nov _ May to attend a Maverick home game?
Does Winstar work because it is a few hours from a city?

I would think a casino would face the extreme of NIMBY. I can only think of a couple of things I would be more resistant to than a casino in my general vicinity. Living next to one of these things would mean you get all the downside and very, very little of the upside. The only way this sort of thing gets done is if a lot of political palms get greased to override the voters in the immediate vicinity.

 

[Chop]

The only thing that could make all this better is if the Binion family built a legal casino on Panther Island in Ft Worth. Things would then have come full circle.

In this video, the historian claims that, when Ma Ferguson fired all the Texas Rangers, Frank Hamer (assassinated Bonnie & Clyde) and Lone Wolf Gonzaulles (put down the East Texas oilfield war) went into business with Benny Binion as hired guns and hitmen. And part of the deal with the police/city gov't leaving him alone was that Binion's killers would take care of the hard drug dealers and help clean them out of Dallas. This historian says they'd dump the bodies up in Denton Co. so the Dallas authorities wouldn't have to deal with the paper work. In his new incarnation in Las Vegas, at his peak, Binion controlled over 50% of the gambling $$$$ in Las Vegas.



Article below discusses Warren Diamond, whom Binion more-or-less took over from.

Dallas gambling chief ends his own life

News, notes, articles and book excerpts from authors of crime history.

www.writersofwrongs.com

 

[Horn6721]

BOSD
More interesting. A 24/7 poker club wanted to open in N Dallas
Smack dab in middle of several neighborhoods
Would have shared an alley with one neighborhood that had lots of families

People mobilized and fought it
For now
It will come back up

 

[Sangre Naranjada]

Would people from Houston or San Antonio or anywhere plan a destination trip in Nov _ May to attend a Maverick home game?

Speaking for me and my immediate family only: not only NO, but HELL NO!

We much prefer to use our vacation money on Tolbert's and HornFans tailgates.

 

[BrntOrngStmpeDe]

BOSD
More interesting. A 24/7 poker club wanted to open in N Dallas
Smack dab in middle of several neighborhoods
Would have shared an alley with one neighborhood that had lots of families

People mobilized and fought it
For now
It will come back up

As a guy that plays poker 4 nights a week, I would have, ironically, welcomed that one in a commercial area. Personally, i think playing the other players vs. playing the house is a very different kind of gambling. But it does make my point to a degree. Gambling does attract a lot of folks from the darker side. Myself included...sometimes.

 

[Horn6721]

BOSD
That is exactly the thing
You pointed out you would go to a club in a commercial area and there are many available commercial sites suitable in the Plex for a club to buy

Even in Vegas no casino backs up to family neighborhoods
Maybe that is why I like the term Destination Resort

 

[Chop]

Maybe Disney could get in on the game.

A Disney Destination Resort would have:

Donald's Dice craps tables

Pluto's Poker tables

Uncle Scrooge's Millions (the huge oversized slot machine when you walk in the door)

Belle's Blackjack tables

The Beast's Baccarat tables

Snow White's Slots

The cocktail waitresses could wear Minnie's mini-skirts

And they could have lines that you wait in to get to the gambling tables

 

[Horn6721]

But Chop
I am telling you if Disney announces such a place you need your 10%

 

[BrntOrngStmpeDe]

BOSD
That is exactly the thing
You pointed out you would go to a club in a commercial area and there are many available commercial sites suitable in the Plex for a club to buy

Even in Vegas no casino backs up to family neighborhoods
Maybe that is why I like the term Destination Resort

If you have not been to a poker club, they are a far cry from a Destination Resort/Casino. At least in Texas. Most that I've been to, are relatively simple buildings within strip malls. They are not beacons for the other type of debauchery that typically accompanies casinos.

 

[Horn6721]

Except there is traffic coming going 24 hrs a day. Understandably people didn't want their children in the back yards that open to the alley OR taking out garbage when people were coming down alley to park. At the same time this was going on an illegal poker club in south dallas was involved in a shooting between 2 players.
At least at a Destination Resort it wouldn't be neighborhoods.

 

[mb227]

Glamorous resorts...yeah in the commercials. Then you go into a big smoky cavern where decrepit old folks drag oxygen bottles from slot machine to slot machine. Gambling addiction is real and ain't nothing glamorous for the families impacted.

And there, conversely, are plenty of us who aren't addicted but enjoy certain elements of the casino.

I'd be happy with legalized sports betting that didn't have insane juice like Louisiana. For decent size betting, one is better off flying to Nevada than driving to the border.

 

[Mr. Deez]

The cocktail waitresses could wear Minnie's mini-skirts

If it's Disney, they'd wear the miniskirts, but most would have an Adam's apple and a bulge.

 

[Gylcomer]

What’s In The Legislation?​

Luxury Amenities​

State-of-the-art entertainment facilities, four- to five-star hotels, casino gaming, live performance venues, destination retail shopping, spas, and more.

Thousands of New Jobs​

Each new project would create thousands of construction jobs, and tens of thousands of permanent new jobs in new and existing hotels, convention centers, restaurants, retail centers, and offices.

Funding for Education​

Revenue raised from these new sites could provide funding for public education and public higher education, for the arts as well as for public safety and law enforcement.

Economic Benefits​

This measure would bring billions of dollars back to Texas from bordering states, to boost the state’s economy. Texans would see several billion dollars invested into the state and billions for local services they rely on.

​

PAID FOR BY LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP.

New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mexico don’t like us anyway…please pass it…and we keep our gambling dollars in Texas.

 

[Run Pincher]

Now that @Mr. Deez has moved out, the neighborhoods have improved drastically.

I knew that was coming from someone, I just wasn't sure who.

And Deez, I haven't been to Germany in 18 years so I'm sure it's changed significantly, as well as many other once really beautiful spotless cities. Like the Indian in the commercial from a long time ago, I would probably cry if I saw Geneva and Zurich being trashed.

 

[HornHuskerDad]

I would think a casino would face the extreme of NIMBY.

Absolutely! If there is a proposed venue in Arlington, I will vote against it as many times as I can. We already have horrible traffic in Arlington. Adding 24/7 casino traffic would compound the problem. Not to mention the increase in crime. Take your destination resort somewhere else. It's a two-hour drive to the Red River - if you really want to gamble, make the Indians richer in Oklahoma. NIMBY!