Cordish Applauds Mark Cuban’s Mavericks Sale in Hopes of Texas Casinos

Posted on: December 4, 2023, 11:00h. 

Last updated on: December 9, 2023, 01:44h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The Cordish Companies patriarch, David Cordish, believes Mark Cuban selling his majority ownership in the NBA Dallas Mavericks improves the odds of commercial casinos one day coming to Texas.

Cordish Companies Mark Cuban Texas casino
David Cordish at the opening of the 310-room hotel at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland in June 2018. Cordish thinks Mark Cuban selling the NBA Dallas Mavericks might improve the odds of casinos being permitted in Texas. (Image: Washington Post)

Cordish’s firm operates casinos in its home state of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The company has three gaming properties, including Live! Casino Hotel Maryland is in Hanover near BWI airport. Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, and Live! Casino Pittsburgh in Westmoreland.

In early 2025, Louisiana is expected to become Cordish’s third gaming state. That’s through a $270 million redevelopment of the former Diamond Jacks riverboat that will become Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana. Cordish also seeks a third casino in Pennsylvania through State College but remains in a legal dispute with Bally’s and the state’s Gaming Control Board.

Before it became a gaming operator, Cordish was primarily engaged in commercial mixed-use real estate developments. The company owns and/or operates Live!-branded entertainment and hospitality districts nationwide, including two in Texas.

Texas Live! in Arlington is a public-private partnership between the City of Arlington, the MLB Texas Rangers, and Cordish Companies. The $250 million dining, entertainment, and hospitality destination is between Globe Life Park, the Rangers’ home, and AT&T Stadium, the NFL Dallas Cowboys home. Texas Live! opened in August 2018.

Cordish additionally operates Bayou Place in Houston’s downtown Theater District.

Cordish Celebrates Cuban Sale

Cuban has repeatedly said that the Lone Star State must diversify its leisure and hospitality segments to lure vacationers better. One idea the billionaire has floated is allowing casino resorts to open.

Speaking recently with the Dallas Business Journal, Cordish said casino resorts are precisely what Texas needs to attract out-of-state travelers.

The idea of combining entertainment and mixed-use around a casino is absolutely the winning formula,” Cordish said.

In Philadelphia, Cordish operated a similar Live! Entertainment and hospitality destination in the city’s Stadium District before commercial casino gaming came to the commonwealth. Cordish opened its $700 million casino resort adjacent to Xfinity Live! Philadelphia in early 2021.

Texas Casinos

If Texas decides to legalize casinos in the coming years, Cordish would presumably make a bid to gain development rights. Cuban has expressed interest in partnering with Las Vegas Sands for an integrated resort in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Last week, Cuban announced he was selling a $3.5 billion controlling stake in the Mavs to Dr. Miriam Adelson, the widow of Sheldon Adelson, who founded and ran Sands until his death in January 2021.

Cuban divesting majority control of the NBA franchise could improve the odds of Texas lawmakers passing legislation authorizing casino gambling. Though Cuban is wildly wealthy, with Forbes estimating his fortune at $6.2 billion, Dr. Adelson is worth around $31.5 billion.

Adelson sold $2 billion of Sands shares to partially fund her Mavs purchase. After the transaction, she still maintains about 47% of the casino firm.

Adelson doesn’t deal with day-to-day operations at Sands. But Sands officials have heavily targeted Texas for the company’s next domestic play. Sands has spent tens of millions of dollars in recent years lobbying Texas lawmakers to support gaming.