SHREVEPORT, LA - Folks who go to the casinos in Shreveport and Bossier City know how dependent the local casinos are on guests from Texas. Those numbers have been declining with the proliferation of gambling in Oklahoma.

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Those casinos have taken a sizeable share of the East Texas market. But the bigger question is what will happen if Texas ever legalizes gambling? The new owners of the Dallas Mavericks are now talking about working to make that happen.

KLIF reports

New Dallas Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont stated that the families with casino ties that recently bought the club are taking a long-term view over gambling prospects in Texas. The Dumont and Miriam Adelson families are likely to pursue a new arena to be built with a casino resort sometime after the lease at the American Airlines Center expires in 2031.

Dumont says his family and that of the widow of Las Vegas Sands Corp. founder Sheldon Adelson are committed to Dallas long term.

Dumont told reporters “We’re patient. We think long term. We’re not people who think in the short term."

Dumont is the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, who still holds the majority ownership of the Sands in Las Vegas even after selling $2 billion in stock to buy the Mavericks from Mark Cuban.

Is Texas Likely to Approve Casino Gambling?

That depends on who you ask. Some state lawmakers say they will oppose efforts to legalize casino gambling, but others say it's time to make it happen. The real question is what do Texas residents want? The leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature don't think voters want the expansion of gambling, so it has not been a priority.

Some of the gambling proposals in the legislative session last year did go further than they have in the past, but casino gambling still did not win widespread support. The Texas legislature meets every other year, so this will likely be a hot topic next year.

Dumont believes the Dallas market does need more to make it a bigger tourist destination and he tells Fox News he thinks a resort style casino could be a great option.