One of Dallas-Fort Worth’s legacy newspapers seems to have botched a recent story regarding the ongoing discussions among Irving City Council members about rezoning part of the city for gaming.
The Dallas Morning News (DMN) quoted Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer as saying that he was unaware of anyone in his area who opposed the potential construction of a casino in the city. This would be a big statement given that the Mayor is elected to an at-large seat and serves the entire city.
“I haven’t had a single resident tell me this is a bad project,” Stopfer said, according to DMN. “Period.”
However, Stopfer did not say this.
The comment can be heard at the 1:54:07 mark of the YouTube livestream of the February 27 working session. Although Stopfer and Council Members Luis Canosa (D4) and Kyle Taylor (D7) are speaking at the same time, it is clear that Stopfer did not utter these words.
While the camera angle makes it hard to tell exactly who is speaking, Taylor appears to have made the comments.
Both men were shutting down Canosa’s questioning of Assistant City Manager Phillip Sanders on the specifics of the rezoning. Canosa signaled his concern that once the area is approved for gaming, any potential gambling laws will be set by the state without input from Irving’s city council.
Stopfer told Canosa that his questioning was “way off base” and Council Member Dennis Webb (D8) said the questions were “irrelevant,” The Dallas Express reported.
Their discourse concerned tracts of land purchased by a company affiliated with the Las Vegas Sands Corp near the former Texas Stadium in 2023.
The rezoning of this land for gaming would be the first step in a multi-part process to bring a casino to DFW. Although it is not clear what the state legislature and the voters will do, the next required step in the legal process would be to amend the state constitution.
Gambling is outlawed under Texas Penal Code Chapter 47. State gaming laws can only be changed by amending the Texas constitution, which requires two-thirds approval in the Texas House and Senate and the approval of a majority of voters on a statewide ballot.
Casino gambling is a hotly debated issue with a variety of purported pros, including increased economic activity and tax revenue, as well as several alleged cons, including crime and gambling addiction, DX reported.
Stopfer was contacted for comment on this story but did not respond by the time of publication.
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