Who's 'Miriam Adelson'? How Mavs' Sale Helps Mark Cuban Bring Las Vegas-Style Casinos & Resorts to Dallas
DALLAS - No, Dallas Mavericks governor Mark Cuban isn't "going broke'' and he isn't "moving his NBA team to Las Vegas.''
In fact, on those two very subjects, his sale of a "significant stake'' of his NBA franchise to Miriam Adelson is actually the very opposite from those rumors.
The billionaire Cuban is about to become even more wealthy. And he's doing it not by moving the Mavs to Vegas, but rather by "moving Vegas to Dallas.''
The Adelson family is led by Miriam, an accomplished person in her own right in many ways but quite notably the widow of Sheldon Adelson, who built his fortune in the casino and resort business.
Miriam, 78, just sold $2 billion of her piece of Las Vegas Sands with the intent of getting into the sports franchise business. She will now be a partner in the business of the Mavs, reportedly paying Cuban $3.6 billion for that right.
That already represents a windfall for Cuban, who purchased his beloved Mavs in 2000 for $285 million. But that's just the tip of the iceberg here.
A key here: This isn't just a "sale.'' It's a "merger.'' It's a "marriage'' of a sports enterprise and a casino and resort enterprise.
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Cuban, 65, will continue to retain operational control of the team; he's going nowhere. He will also, almost certainly, by virtue of this deal be entering into a partnership with one of the most powerful casino and resort companies on the planet ... and right on schedule, for it has long been Cuban's vision to not only build a new Mavs arena in DFW but to also create a billion-dollar entertainment complex around it.
He's worth $6 billion, so he's got power to influence the changing of the laws in Texas that can accelerate legalized gambling. But now he's combining forces with the Adelson family, and Miriam is the sixth-wealthiest woman in the world and is worth $36 billion.
What else does Miriam bring as "Dallas Mavs owner'' (even though again, this is about much more than that)? She is a political powerbroker, having served as a key financial helper to President Donald Trump and as a key financial donor to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Do Cuban and Abbott see eye-to-eye on game-changing matters like this? Maybe not. Can Adelson and Abbott get on the same page?
In a very literal sense - because we're talking about gambling - that's a good bet.
How knotted are the interests of the Cuban family and the Adelson family? Mark is of course known for his 16 seasons on the TV show "Shark Tank.'' There is also an Israeli version of the TV show, starring an Israeli entrepreneur named Yasmin Lukatz.
Who is Yasmin Lukatz? She's the daughter of Miriam Adelson.
Cuban's vision is that a Las Vegas-style entertainment destination in Dallas would be an economic bonanza not only for him and for Adelson (though definitely for him and for Adelson), but also for the city and state. In that sense, the headline-grabbing story - "Cuban is selling the Mavs!'' - isn't the top headline at all; the Mavs are just one big cog in the wheel here.
The Mavericks are on a 30-year lease to play at the American Airlines Center. It expires on July 28, 2031. Cuban has talked about this project being one that will "take seven years'' to establish.
The clock has begun to tick. The cogs have begun to move. Miriam is going to be a Mav gal. And Cuban is going to be a casino guy.
