The Las Vegas casino company affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks is looking to build a resort in Irving, where the Dallas Cowboys' former stadium was once located.

Why it matters: Las Vegas Sands, run by the powerful and wealthy Adelson family, has lobbied for years to get Texas to legalize casino gambling.

• Having a presence in North Texas would position Sands to expand its casino business to Texas if state leaders pursue loosening gambling restrictions.

The big picture: The Texas Constitution restricts gambling, allowing for a lottery, charitable bingo, parimutuel betting on horse and dog racing, and gambling at three tribe-owned casinos.

• Poker rooms are also open across the state, though their legality is murky.
• A statewide referendum would be required to lift gambling restrictions.

Flashback: The Adelsons bought Mark Cuban's majority stake in the Mavericks in 2023.

The latest: Earlier this year, Las Vegas Sands asked the Irving City Council to rezone almost 1,000 acres in Irving, including the site of the former Texas Stadium, so a casino and destination resort could be built there in the future.

• The "high-density" development would have corporate, retail and residential buildings and a resort with 1,750 rooms, restaurants, pools and a 15,000-seat arena or a 4,000-seat theater, per KERA.
• The company scrapped the casino and nightclub components after criticism from Irving residents.
• The City Council passed the rezoning ordinances, 6-3, last week.

Reality check: Building a development of this caliber will be a long process, requiring more approvals along the way, Irving City Council Member Brad LaMorgese said at last week's meeting.

Friction point: Legal casinos could be a boon to the Texas economy — with thousands of jobs in tow — but they also come with documented societal ills.

Between the lines: Patrick Dumont, the Mavericks' governor and Miriam Adelson's son-in-law, told the DMN this month that the franchise plans to stay in Dallas and build a "full-blown entertainment district" in the city after their lease with the American Airlines Center ends in 2031.

What's next: Dumont is reportedly on track to become Sands' new CEO next year.

Dallas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett is staring down a Republican censure effort for referring to Gov. Greg Abbott — who is disabled and uses a wheelchair — as "Governor Hot Wheels."

Why it matters: Once a rarely used tool, censure is becoming the immediate go-to method for members of the U.S. House's majority party to punish members of the minority.

Driving the news: "Y'all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there. Come on now," Crockett said of Abbott during remarks at a Human Rights Campaign dinner in Los Angeles on Saturday.

• She added: "And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot ass mess, honey."

What's happening: Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) is planning to introduce a resolution censuring Crockett, Weber's office confirmed to Axios.

• The two-page resolution, a copy of which was obtained by Axios, calls Crockett's remarks "unbecoming of a Member of Congress" and "discriminatory in nature."

The other side: "I wasn't thinking about the governor's condition — I was thinking about the planes, trains, and automobiles he used to transfer migrants into communities led by Black mayors, deliberately stoking tension and fear among the most vulnerable," Crockett said on X.

Zoom out: Crockett would be the second House Democrat censured just this year and the fifth since Republicans took back the House majority in 2023.

• All House Republicans and 10 Democrats voted to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Houston) earlier this month for disrupting President Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress.

Texas had the most cases of the West Nile virus in humans last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Why it matters: Mosquito-borne illnesses are on the rise as winters get more mild and summers are longer and hotter.

The big picture: Texas reported 176 cases of the virus in humans in 2024. California had the second most with 123, per the CDC.

• Most of the 1,466 cases reported nationwide were the more serious neuroinvasive disease.

Threat level: About 20% of people infected with the virus develop symptoms, which are similar to the flu. Most likely never know they were infected.

• 1 in 150 people infected develop the more serious neuroinvasive disease, which can cause inflammation to the brain. About 10% of the people who develop the more serious disease die.

What's next: Mosquitoes can be present all year in Texas but are most prevalent during the warm summer months beginning in May.

💦 A Romanian wellness company that operates spa, sauna and indoor waterpark complexes plans to build an $800 million resort near downtown Dallas. (Dallas Morning News)

📣 The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders will perform in five cities across Texas and hold auditions before an audience. (WFAA)

🔎 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating a proposed development 40 miles northeast of Dallas by the East Plano Islamic Center. (KERA)

👀Discover new local events.

Phoenix Global Forum at Phoenix Convention Center April 8-9: Join them for two days of discussion on AI, biotech, space and more. Register now.

Hosting an event? Email [email protected].

A coaster with a pithy saying on the El Arroyo sign in Austin is a quintessential Texas souvenir.

• Can the Truck Yard compete?

State of slay: The bright yellow sign outside the outdoor bar in Lowest Greenville often jokes about Texas weather, aging and drinking.

• Sometimes mistakes are "your own asphalt" and sometimes you're rolling a(n ankle) joint.

The big roast: Most of the time we don't pay much attention to the sign. We're usually too focused on navigating the busy parking lot at nearby Trader Joes.

• But the latest (seen above) made us giggle.

The bottom line: Truck Yard's sign might be copying Austin's, but what is Dallas if not a copy of cool things in other cities?