A shadowy political fund with ties to one of the world’s largest casinos has poured nearly $100k into a local City Council race.
Financial records available on the Texas Ethics Commission website show the Las Vegas Sands-tied Lone Star Conservative Action Fund spent $93,430.36 to support council candidates Priscilla Vigliante, Tony Grimes, and David Pfaff, outpacing their combined expenditures of $74,391.50 from July 2024 to April 2025.
The document indicates that Lone Star Conservative Action Fund made several payments to Colorado-based Gear & Lever Consulting, LLC, for various items listed as “Advertising Expense.”
Individually, Vigliante spent approximately $9,044, Grimes about $3,886, and Pfaff roughly $61,460 over the same period, according to their campaign reports.
The Lone Star Conservative Action Fund’s spending dwarfs even that of its rivals in the race. By comparison, candidates Adam Muller, John Bloch, and Sergio Porres reported spending substantially less: Muller about $4,395, Bloch $1,721, and Porres approximately $38,366 between January and April 2025, according to each candidate’s campaign reports.
The fund, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, is not required to disclose its donors but lists Aaron De Leon, president of Leon Strategies, as its executive director on IRS documents, per previous reporting by The Dallas Express.
Leon Strategies has connections to Sands-backed groups, receiving $25,000 from the Texas for Opportunity and Prosperity PAC, according to campaign finance disclosures covered by DX.
Further linking Lone Star to Sands, Leon Strategies’ social media accounts show mutual affiliations with the Texas Destination Resort Alliance, a pro-casino advocacy group aligned with the Sands Corporation.
The Lone Star Conservative Action Fund was officially created in October 2023, a few months after Sands’ subsidiary Village Walk LLC purchased PUD 6, the Irving property targeted for potential casino development.
The fund’s sudden spending spree has drawn attention following a wave of political signs and text messages promoting Vigliante, Grimes, and Pfaff — all bearing Lone Star’s disclosure.
Irving residents have noticed the spending in Facebook groups. “Irving residents need answers! This is corrupt and shady to the core. Who are these people based out of Austin, and who is funding them? Why are they supporting the candidates who are telling voters the casino is a non-issue?” Rachel Harold posted in South Irving Together.
“Literally no one knows why they’ve thrown money into this race. If you have definitive knowledge that’s not pure conjecture, please share it. Otherwise admit that you’re just guessing,” Kim Black said in a series of responses to Harold’s post.
One Irving resident who has previously signaled support for a casino but has been skeptical of the process that has brought the Sands’ business interests to Irving saw things differently. Matt Varble responded, “Kim Black the reason is obvious. Anyone with an IQ above room temperature should already understand that is the only explanation. I also favor a casino so l’m not saying it’s some terrible thing. We already have one PAC involved and now there is another one.”
This comes after Irving citizens overwhelmingly rejected a Sands-backed gaming rezoning proposal for the land near the former Dallas Cowboys’ stadium at public hearings earlier this year. Additionally, reports from DX revealed that Sands affiliates paid protestors to give the impression of public support for the rezoning.
It remains unclear how closely the candidates are coordinating with Lone Star. “I was not aware of this group’s existence until I saw signs start appearing around town,” Vigliante previously told DX.
Her campaign website reads, “Priscilla is against gambling, and while she was on the Planning and Zoning Commission, she protected our neighborhoods and families by voting to stop the spread of poker houses in our community.”
A video recently released by Pfaff shows him saying, “I don’t want their [Sands and Lone Star’s] Support.”
He added later, “I can not be bought.”
Grimes’s campaign website does not address casino gaming in Irving.
City Council candidate Sergio Porres, who is running against Pfaff in District 2, criticized the influx of spending, previously telling DX: “It’s actually irrelevant if Priscilla Vigliante, Tony Grimes or David Pfaff are aware of who is funding these signs, text messages, and mailers. The fact that we are, almost overnight, seeing a massive wave of activity in support of these candidates puts the lie to the idea that Sands is no longer interested in building the world’s largest casino here.”
Porres continued, “[The Las Vegas Sands] tried to gaslight the voters and that didn’t work, so their next tactic is to simply flood the field to try to drown out the opposition. I don’t think it’s going to work because the people of Irving are paying attention, but it is more important than ever that the residents fight back against this dark money by going to the polls and voting for the candidates that are fighting back against this kind of special interest: Adam Muller, John Bloch and Sergio Porres.”
Bloch, who is facing Grimes for Place 1, publicly signaled his opposition to casino gaming during a March 20 council meeting. Muller, running against Vigliante for District 7, likewise states on his website that he will “protect Irving’s future quality of life by preventing casino development.”
Early voting in the Irving City Council election runs through April 29. Election Day is May 3.