Four local realtors have raised alarm bells about potential economic and social dangers if a casino is brought to Irving.
Chandler Crouch, Diane Benjamin, Joe Kaiser, and David Ross all work for or own different real estate firms in DFW. Between them, they have over a century of experience in the real estate market.
Each of these realtors spoke to The Dallas Express in their personal capacity; their views are not necessarily those of their employers.
In addressing what a casino in the region could possibly do to the region, Crouch employed a nuclear analogy, saying there would be a “fallout radius” around a casino where most of its impact would be felt. He said casinos are “known for elevating crime on some level ” and increasing traffic, two things he thought could negatively impact the prices of homes in the immediate vicinity.
However, he did not feel there would be a widespread effect on the DFW housing market broadly.
Crouch noted that both the benefits and detriments of building a casino would be minimized if multiple casinos existed in Texas. Texas already has several Indian casinos on tribal land, but each is in a remote part of the state. A casino in a metropolitan area would be new for the Lonestar State, and proposed legislation could allow up to ten new casinos in Texas.
If there are 10 casinos “evenly distributed… throughout the major metropolitan areas of Texas,” he saw that the risks of crime and the potential for economic benefits would be substantially diminished.
Kaiser also saw potential increases in social ills affecting those with fewer means to mitigate the damage. He pointed out a string of non-gated communities near the 114 corridor, close to the old Texas Stadium, where the casino might be built, noting these such areas would have the toughest time repelling crime.
“Most of it comes down to perception,” explained Kaiser.
Irrespective of whether there is an increase in crime, if living near a casino has a stigma in the public mind, those houses might become harder to sell. He compared this to some homebuyers’ common aversion to purchasing properties near power lines.
Although he invoked powerlines only to make an analogy, there is a question about where the power for a proposed casino would come from. Councilman Al Zapanta questioned Deputy City Manager Phillip Sanders about where Oncor might put a new substation to support a project like this during the February 27 working session. Sanders said there had been discussions with the utility provider, but he could not offer a concrete answer.
Both Crouch and Kaiser saw plausible alternatives that they thought were less deleterious to home values. Crouch felt a hotel or stadium would bring fewer social ills. Kaiser suggested that the City of Irving should fight to get “the ExxonMobil people back from the Woodlands.” After all, it was “Exxon executives who practically built the Fox Glenn neighborhood,” he said.
Additionally, Crouch and Kaiser said Irvingites should not expect the economic boom that rural places such as Thackerville, Oklahoma, saw when Winstar Casino was built. Both realtors noted that Thackerville was a commercially undeveloped area with limited economic opportunity before the casino was built.
Benjamin, also a Dallas City Council District 13 candidate, expressed that a casino would exacerbate other issues in DFW.
“This is a no-brainer,” she said. “Here we have Dallas the hub of human trafficking for the entire United States… crime is pervasive and here we have AT&T, considering leaving downtown Dallas because of the crime situation the lack of police, a police chief, who is not obeying ice in regard to illegals, and all the ills of society … human trafficking drugs prostitution will prosper right here in River city.”
Ross conceded that there could be some increase in economic activity but that much of it would go to “unsavory new businesses” servicing the casino, adding that there would probably be an increase in “high-density residential structures.”
He shared his belief that things are more important than money and reminded DX that “Las Vegas, notorious for its casinos, is often referred to as Sin City.”
Ross also noted that “real estate values will not be helped, probably will be hurt, by such an intrusion. ”
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The Texas Destination Resort Alliance’s website lists the benefits of bringing casinos to Texas. Echoing the pro-lottery arguments of the early 1990s, the Alliance website claims, “Revenue raised from these new sites could provide funding for public education and public higher education, for the arts, as well as for public safety and law enforcement.”
The webpage also asserts, “Each new project would create thousands of construction jobs, and tens of thousands of permanent new jobs in new and existing hotels, convention centers, restaurants, retail centers, and offices.”
Another website entry suggests that a casino in Texas would capture local money that currently flows out of state to casinos in Oklahoma or Louisiana.
“This measure would bring billions of dollars back to Texas from bordering states to boost the state’s economy. Texans would see several billion dollars invested into the state and billions for local services they rely on.”
The Irving City Council is expected to vote on a zoning variance on March 20 that would allow gambling near the site of the former Texas Stadium. This land is owned by a corporation affiliated with the Las Vegas Sands casino.
Although rezoning alone would not legalize gambling or casinos in Texas, it would be the first step in a multi-step process that could lead the state in that direction.
Other steps that would have to be taken would include changing the state’s gambling laws, which can only be done by amending Texas’ constitution. This requires two-thirds approval in the Texas House and Senate and the approval of a majority of voters on a statewide ballot.