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A big casino company tried to push Texas lawmakers to let them open in Texas. It didn’t work

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A big casino company tried to push Texas lawmakers to let them open in Texas. It didn’t work


Except for two Native American-owned properties in far-flung parts of the state, casinos are banned in Texas. But one of the biggest casino and resort companies in the world wanted to change that.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation made a big lobbying bet this past legislative session to try to convince lawmakers to ask voters to amend the state constitution to allow for gambling.

As Forrest Wilder reports for Texas Monthly, it didn’t work.

“Sands is one of the largest casino gambling and destination resort companies in the world. They got their start in Las Vegas, but all six of their properties are now in Asia,” Wilder said. “The company was started by the late Sheldon Adelson, who is a pretty well-known figure in American politics, and it is now controlled by his widow, Miriam Adelson. She is a billionaire and also is well known for her contributions to President Trump’s presidential campaigns.”

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Despite casinos being largely illegal in Texas, Sands recently tried to push through a rezoning proposal in Irving.

“Sands went ahead and Irving tried to push through a rezoning proposal where they would take a property they own near the old Texas Stadium where Dallas Cowboys used to play,” Wilder said. “Under this zoning proposal, they would be able to build a casino, as well as other things for shopping and an arena, perhaps for the Dallas Mavericks. And this ended up producing a pretty huge local backlash that ended up killing the deal.”

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Sands has been open that they think Texas is their ticket to reopen casinos in the U.S, according to Wilder.

“They argue the black market in Texas is already enormous,” Wilder said. “Why not take all of that illegal activity that Texans are doing anyway – for example, by placing bets on their phones, on sports and that sort of thing – and turn into the sort of high-end legal luxury properties that they’ve been developing in the U.S. and elsewhere for decades?”

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Sands hired over 100 lobbyists to try and convince lawmakers to open a path toward casinos in Texas.

“They invested tens of millions of dollars in political campaigns,” Wilder said. “They ran an expensive, nonstop TV advertising campaign that probably most of your listeners saw at some point.”

However, Wilder said he talked to experts that felt this level of marketing backfired.

“One person told me just being so aggressive that it kind of came across as bullying,” Wilder said. “[They made] a lot of enemies in the Republican grassroots, which is never a good idea in Texas if you want to get something done at the Legislature.

“Nobody knows the future. They say they’re not going away; they are unintimidated and are going to keep pressing forward. But from what I heard from a wide array of sources on all different sides of this issue is that they took a big step back and that they’re going to have to kind of go back to the drawing board and figure out how they can move forward at this point.”

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Texas sues Netflix for allegedly spying on kids, addicting users

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Texas sues Netflix for allegedly spying on kids, addicting users


Netflix was sued Monday (May 11) by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused the streaming company of spying on children and other consumers by collecting their data without consent, and designing its platform to be addictive. Ram Nabong reports.



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Texas sues Netflix, alleges platform spied on kids and collected data

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Texas sues Netflix, alleges platform spied on kids and collected data


The state of Texas announced a lawsuit against streaming giant Netflix on Monday, accusing the company of spying on children and other consumers by collecting their data without consent and designing the platform to be addictive.

Texas claims that Netflix has falsely represented to consumers that it didn’t collect or share user data while it actually tracked and sold viewers’ habits and preferences to commercial data brokers and advertising technology companies.

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The lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claims that “Netflix’s endgame is simple and lucrative: get children and families glued to the screen, harvest their data while they are stuck there, and then monetize the data for a handsome profit.”

The state of Texas announced a lawsuit against streaming giant Netflix on Monday. (Nikos Pekiaridis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“When you watch Netflix, Netflix watched you,” Texas added in the lawsuit.

NETFLIX CO-FOUNDER REED HASTINGS TO STEP DOWN, DEPARTURE IS ‘SPOOKING INVESTORS’

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NFLX NETFLIX INC. 85.39 -2.10 -2.40%

The complaint quotes comments made by former CEO Reed Hastings who said in 2020, while he was still leading the streaming company, that “we don’t collect anything,” amid questions over Big Tech companies’ data collection practices.

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Netflix was also accused of quietly using “dark patterns” to keep users watching on its platform, such as an autoplay feature that starts a new show after a different show ends.

NETFLIX RAISES SUBSCRIPTION PRICES ACROSS ALL PLANS

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)

Paxton said in a press release that Netflix “has built a surveillance program designed to illegally collect and profit from Texans’ personal data without their consent, and my office will do everything in our power to stop it.”

The attorney general said he’s charging Netflix under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act and seeks to require Netflix to stop the unlawful collection and disclosure of user data, require Netflix to disable autoplay by default on kid’s profiles, and to secure injunctive relief and civil penalties.

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FOX Business reached out to Netflix for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.



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6 people found dead inside a boxcar in Texas, officials say | CNN

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6 people found dead inside a boxcar in Texas, officials say | CNN


Six people were found dead inside a cargo train boxcar in a Texas city along the southern border on Sunday, officials said.

The bodies were found in a Union Pacific train at a rail yard in Laredo, around 160 miles south of San Antonio, just after 3:30 p.m. local time, said Jose Espinoza, a public information officer with the Laredo Police Department.

The circumstances of their deaths are unknown, said Laredo police spokesperson Joe Baeza, according to CNN affiliate KGNS, and an investigation is underway.

Union Pacific operates across the border and is the only railroad that services all access points into Mexico, according to the freight company’s website.

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Temperatures on Sunday afternoon in Laredo were in the low-mid 90s, though it’s unclear whether heat was a factor.

Union Pacific said it was saddened by the incident and is working closely with law enforcement to investigate.

Laredo police said they received a call around 3 p.m. from an employee at the Union Pacific rail yard, KGNS reported. The bodies were discovered during a routine rail car inspection, police said. No survivors were found.

CNN has reached out to Laredo police for more information.

“It’s a very early phase of the investigation. There’s not a lot to reveal right now,” Baeza said, KGNS reported.

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The immigration status and ages of the deceased are not yet known, Espinoza said.

US Customs and Border Protection referred CNN to the Laredo Police Department, saying “The incident remains under investigation by Laredo Police Department and Homeland Security Investigation and Texas Rangers.”

CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, HSI and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“It’s a very unfortunate event,” Espinoza told CNN. “It was too many lives that were lost.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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