What Are The Odds Las Vegas Gets An Expansion NBA Team Or The Mavs?
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The sale of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks to a Las Vegas billionaire has been approved, with Mark Cuban, who is selling the team, saying the franchise will remain in North Texas.
Even so, the transaction has revived a conversation regarding the possibility of an NBA franchise in Southern Nevada. The Las Vegas Valley already has NFL, NHL and WNBA teams and is expecting Major League Baseball’s Oakland A's to move into a stadium to be opened in 2028 where the Tropicana hotel-casino now stands on the Strip.
Las Vegas casino owner Derek Stevens says the existence of an NBA franchise in the valley is not a matter of if, but when.
Currently, three possibilities exist for that to happen: an NBA expansion team, the relocation of an existing team, or the Dallas Mavericks ultimately making the move.
Las Vegas In Running For Expansion Team
An expansion team is considered a possibility, especially since NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has indicated the league could add teams in the coming years. If the league follows though on that, Las Vegas is a likely contender.
Casey Lewless, sportsbook manager at two riverboat casinos in Northwest Louisiana -- Margaritaville and Boomtown -- told Gambling.com an expansion NBA team is a more likely reality for Las Vegas than for the Dallas Mavericks to move there.
"The Dallas teams are too established in the community to relocate them," Lewless said. "It just doesn't make sense."
Lewless' sportsbooks in Bossier City, Louisiana, attract customers from the Dallas area. Dallas is only a little more than 2 1/2 hours from the Bossier City metro area, which includes Shreveport. That area in Northwest Louisiana is the closest place to Dallas with legal sports betting. Margaritaville's sportsbook recently was expanded to two stories.
Existing NBA teams, especially from smaller markets, also could have an eye on Las Vegas, though nothing serious has surfaced along those lines so far. Of the 10 teams ranked by Statista at the bottom of the attendance ladder, some play home games in small markets: Oklahoma City, Memphis, New Orleans.
One franchise that previously gave up on New Orleans, the Jazz, relocated to another smaller market, Salt Lake City. After the Jazz moved to Utah, the team played some “home” games years ago in Las Vegas.
Will Vegas Owners Move Mavs If Texas Rejects Casinos?
The NBA Board of Governors has approved the sale of a 70% stake in the Mavericks to the Adelson and Dumont families of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Miriam Adelson, 78, is the widow of Las Vegas casino developer Sheldon Adelson, who died in 2021. She is the controlling shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which previously ran casinos on the Strip but now only operates in Macau and Singapore. Her son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, is president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands.
The Las Vegas-based casino company, and Miriam Adelson herself, have been active is seeking legislation in Texas to expand gaming in the state, working with legislators and prominent business leaders such as Cuban. That effort has been unsuccessful.
If commercial casinos finally are legalized in the nation’s second most populated state, the Mavericks could end up playing in a North Texas complex that includes a sports arena and Sands-backed casino, according to news reports. Cuban is retaining a minority stake in the NBA team and control of basketball operations.
However, the Texas Legislature won’t be able to address gaming expansion until lawmakers next meet in 2025 in Austin. The public then would have to sign off on whatever the Legislature approves.
If the Legislature rejects measures to legalize commercial casinos and sports betting again, it remains to be seen whether Adelson and Dumont will open discussions about moving the Mavericks to the Las Vegas Valley.
Lewless said if the casino-arena complex doesn't work out in Dallas, the Adelson family could sell the Mavericks and then possibly be a top candidate to own an expansion team in Las Vegas.
In that regard, the Adelson family's current majority ownership in the Mavs might be considered "an audition for the family to eventually land a team in Las Vegas," Lewless said.
Betting Odds
The following are odds on which scenario could lead to Las Vegas landing an NBA franchise. Factors used to set the odds include NBA expansion plans, the potential for a small-market team relocation and the fate of casino legislation in Texas.
If Las Vegas lands an NBA team, which will it be:
- Expansion team +150
- Small-market team relocation +500
- Dallas Mavericks move to Las Vegas +15000
Projected odds set by Gambling.com are not currently available at legal sports betting sites. This page will be updated should odds become available.
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