The battle may be won, but the war continues
In the past few weeks, there has been much discussion among the University of Dallas and Irving community members about the looming development of a casino across the freeway from UD’s campus.
On Mar. 20, 2025, the Sands Corporation dropped the plans after backlash from the community. However, there is still an outside chance that a casino could be built.
Sarah Sokora, director of advancement services at UD, said, “As long as this company owns this piece of land, we are not out of the woods. They could try this again. If gambling is passed at the state level–which the Sands Corporation has spent probably $10 to $20 million in lobbying to do–it’s possible that the state could override local governments. If we tried to pass an amendment to the city charter that said ‘no gambling in Irving ever,’ the state could come in and potentially overrule that. It’s at the state level right now, [and] as long as the Sands Corporation owns that land, they’re going to be trying to put a casino there.”
Dr. Matthew Berry, assistant professor of politics, said, “The casino company in question has no plans to cancel the casino. They have openly said that they still intend to go forward with the casino plan in the long run. The recent zoning decision was, in their eyes, a temporary setback.”
According to Berry, the desire to build a casino remains strong at the Irving political level as well.
“The mayor is very pro-casino and has been, in his own words, working on this deal ‘for years,’” said Berry. “The Irving community needs to come out strong against the mayor on this issue so that he can see that we do not want it, because he thinks it will be good for the city.”
Sokora agreed with Berry’s sentiment. She said, “The Sands Corporation, in concert with at least some members of our city, tried to sneak the rezoning for a casino under the rug and get that passed for this zoning change in about three weeks, which is way faster than most zoning changes happen. They did take the rezoning for casino gambling, destination resorts and nightclubs out of that rezoning request. But they could resubmit for this kind of rezoning at any point in time. They could try this again.”
According to Sokora, getting organized and rallying to fight against the zoning plans could take a few forms in the long run.
“Getting organized [in the future] could take a lot of different forms,” said Sokora. “There’s a local Irving political action committee. There’s potential for forming [a] nonprofit association for something like this. The group in Nassau County is fighting a Sands casino there on Long Island [and] started a different kind of nonprofit to help find it. What people [in] this community, who are devoted to this effort for the long haul, are trying to figure out is: what does the organization look like for us?”
Both Sokora and Berry advise the UD and Irving community to contribute to the fight by voting and writing to politicians.
Sokora said, “The average citizen or even the average student could make sure they’re registered to vote in Irving. If you’re a citizen here, make sure you’re signed up to vote, and then vote in the upcoming city elections. Keeping our own city council and city officials on our side and not the casino[’s] side.”
Berry said, “Writing letters to our state senator (Nathan Johnson) to urge him not to vote to amend the constitution would also be an important step. Generally, find ways to get involved with organizations that are opposed to changing the Texas state constitution, which currently forbids the development of casinos. And when in doubt, get in touch with the Students for Irving – a student-run club here at UD that connects UD students with local politics.”
Above all, Sokora advocates for staying informed and not ignoring the threat that a casino might pose to the Irving community.
“Stay aware,” said Sokora. “Stay alert that this is a looming threat to our community and stay up to date. Because evil triumphs when good people do nothing.”
1
20
20
