Representatives from the Las Vegas Sands Corporation faced overwhelming public opposition during its first presentation on a potential casino project in Irving.
More than 100 protestors turned out Friday evening among the approximately 500 people who attended the City of Irving District 5 Town Hall Meeting.
Many carried signs stating “Don’t Las Vegas My Irving” and “No Casino In Irving.”
Image provided to DX by Vicki Norman, Irving resident
The presentation occurs just six days before the City Council is scheduled to vote on an important project that seeks to rezone the area surrounding the former Texas Stadium for casino gambling. Although gambling is currently illegal in the state, this initiative would be part of a broader plan that includes a proposed state constitutional amendment aimed at legalizing casino gambling.
The Las Vegas Sands’ Andrew Abboud and the protestors clashed during his remarks, with Abboud stating that Oklahoma Casinos had “sponsored your attendance tonight.”
Abboud’s presentation focused on the economic benefits of the development project, which he said would bring billions of dollars in economic activity, 80-90k permanent jobs, and 185,000 construction jobs.
The representative argued that Texas has the largest illegal gambling market in the world and that legalizing casinos would allow the state to strictly regulate the industry and provide safety nets for the addicted gamblers.
After he said this, a woman in the audience interjected, “Illegal [gambling] is not going to stop!”
Abboud denied that Casinos increase crime, arguing, “If Casinos cause crime, then why doesn’t Las Vegas have the highest crime rate in the world?”
Much of Abboud’s presentation framed a casino as an economic engine that could drive more development and would increase tax revenue.
Although there is a possibility that the Sands could build a premier resort that would not include a casino on the property, casinos made up the majority of Abboud’s remarks and the public’s questions.
Over the three-hour exchange, scores of questions were asked, and nearly all had a negative hue; less than a dozen had a purely informational nature.
Many questions focused on the process that brought about the City Council vote. The public only became aware that there would be a vote in late February, roughly three weeks before it was set to be taken.
When Abboud stated that this town hall meeting was only the “beginning [of a process of]… transparency,” numerous audience members interjected with allegations that the Las Vegas Sands Corporation was only engaging in this meeting because there had been a unanimous public backlash to the proposed rezoning at the Planning & Zoning Committee meeting.
One questioner asked if a casino could possibly improve the psyche of Irving residents.
Abboud responded that an increase in “happiness” through customers enjoying gambling would be good for the community’s psyche.
Later, a Catholic monk named Father John from the Cistercian Abbey countered that he had seen many people do things that made them happy but were not necessarily good for them.
The Sands representative expanded his thoughts to say that increased wealth can help the community be happy. He then noted that casino employees are trained to help addicted people who seek help, and he touted the many philanthropic efforts of the Adelson family, which owns the Las Vegas Casino.