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Mark Cuban working on sale of Dallas Mavericks to Las Vegas casino family

Mark Cuban has owned the Mavs since 2000.

Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is working on a deal to sell a majority stake in the NBA franchise to the family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company, a person with knowledge of the talks said Tuesday night.

The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion and take weeks for the league to process, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details weren't being made public.

Cuban would retain control of basketball operations in the deal. NBA reporter Marc Stein was the first to report the potential sale.

The company controlled by Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, announced earlier Tuesday it was selling $2 billion of her shares to buy an unspecified professional sports team.

Cuban said almost a year ago he was interested in partnering with Sands. He has been a proponent of legalizing gambling in Texas, an issue that didn't make it out of the state Legislature in a biennial session that ended earlier this year.

The 65-year-old Cuban, who just announced he was leaving the popular business TV program Shark Tank after a 16th season next year, rose to fame quickly after buying the Mavericks in 2000.

Dallas was one of the worst franchises in pro sports in the 1990s, but turned into one of the best under Cuban, with a lot of help from star forward Dirk Nowitzki.

Miriam Adelson is the controlling shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp., a publicly traded Las Vegas company that built the Venetian and Palazzo resorts but now only has casino operations in Macau and Singapore. Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire founder and owner of Las Vegas Sands, died in 2021 at 87.

The company revealed the sale of $2 billion in stock in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing identified Adelson and the Miriam Adelson Trust as sellers but didn't specify a team, league or location.

If the entirety of the $2 billion goes toward the purchase, it would mean Adelson could be acquiring at least 57% of the NBA team — based on the $3.5 billion valuation.

The 78-year-old Adelson, who is a medical doctor, will retain 51.3% of company shares following the sale, according to the filing. The family also owns Nevada’s largest newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“We have been advised by the selling stockholders that they currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, along with additional cash on hand, to fund the purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franchise ... subject to customary league approvals,” the company said in the SEC filing.

The vetting process for new owners in the NBA typically takes at least several weeks, and then approval must be granted by the league’s Board of Governors.

Cuban also said late last year he wanted to build a new arena in downtown Dallas that would also be a casino resort, if Texas does legalize gambling.

Supporters of legalized gambling in Texas hoped to get a constitutional amendment to voters during the most recent session, but the measure didn't get far in the legislative process. The Republican-controlled Legislature doesn't meet in regular session again until 2025.

Cuban isn't likely to disappear from the spotlight since he will retain control of basketball operations. In fact, efforts to legalize gambling in Texas could end up raising the profile of a billionaire who has been highly visible in sports, business and finance for nearly 25 years.

A self-professed basketball junkie who graduated from Indiana University, Cuban is almost always courtside for Mavericks games. He has always been outspoken, too, compiling millions in fines as owner. Many of his tirades were directed at officials.

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Associated Press writer Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

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Surprising Dallas suburb emerges as a new magnet for the wealthy

Photo courtesy of Visit Mesquite

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A new income study has revealed Dallas' wealthiest aren't settling down in Lewisville anymore — they've set their sights on Mesquite, instead.

Mesquite had one of the highest growth rates of new wealthy residents nationwide in SmartAsset's new analysis, "Cities Adding the Most High-Income Households – 2026 Study."

Based on U.S. Census income data, SmartAsset's experts ranked 357 U.S. cities with at least 100,000 residents based on the growth in high-income households as a percentage of total households between 2023 and 2024. The report defines high-income households as those earning an income of at least $200,000.

Mesquite had the seventh-highest growth in wealthy households in Texas from 2023-2024, and it ranked No. 31 nationwide.

The report's findings show Mesquite had 2,186 high-income households in 2023. By the following year, the suburb had a 52.3 percent growth rate in wealthy earners, bringing the total number of high-income households to 3,717.

A total 6.7 percent of all Mesquite households made at least $200,000 in income in 2024. For added context, the median income for a Mesquite household during that same year was $66,083.

The rise in wealthy newcomers might not be as much of a surprise to locals: There's currently a 1,400-acre master-planned community being developed to accommodate the city's growth, and discount chain BJ's Wholesale Club is expected to debut a Mesquite warehouse in early 2026.

According to the report, an influx of affluent households can have a significant impact on a city's local economy, most commonly through contributing "more dollars to the local and state tax bases, and to surrounding businesses."

"At the same time, this relative economic strength may sway entities to cater more to the preferences of these households to earn their patronage," the report said. "Quick growth in high income households may accelerate tax collection and business prosperity, just as their departure may cause some concern for local politicians, business owners, and neighbors."

In SmartAsset's 2025 report, Lewisville was the top Dallas-Fort Worth city that added the most wealthy new residents, but that figure has since plummeted. Lewisville ranked No. 312 in this year's rankings with a surprising 7.5 percent decline in high-income households from 2023-2024.

Texas cities with the biggest growth in high-income households
The East Texas city of Beaumont, located about 90 miles from Houston, had the biggest growth rate of high-earners in Texas from 2023-2024, and it ranked No. 6 nationally.

Three more Dallas-Fort Worth cities ranked in the top 100: Arlington (No. 56), McKinney (No. 69), and Irving (No. 90). Arlington had a 33.3 percent growth rate in high earners from 2023-2024, and now boasts 13,444 wealthy households. McKinney had 23,740 high-income households in 2024, an increase of 29.8 percent from the year before. Irving's wealthy population grew 24.1 percent, and claims 11,404 high income households.

Other Texas cities that ranked among the national top 100 include:

No. 8 – Odessa
No. 14 – Laredo
No. 18 – College Station
No. 20 – Conroe
No. 28 – Waco
No. 59 – Amarillo
No. 66 – Atascocita
No. 72 – McAllen
No. 77 – League City
No. 94 – Brownsville

houston suburbs conroe smartasset wealthy suburbs affluent households