“Polling over the last year makes it clear that 85% of Texans want the right to vote on this issue,” Geren said in a press release announcing the initiative, saying his measure has bipartisan support. Republicans control both legislative chambers and Geren, who owns Railhead Smokehouse in Fort Worth, is a senior member of the House who has served more than two decades as the representative of District 99 in west and central Tarrant County. But the Geren measure is thought to be the vehicle of choice for many gaming supporters who have been mapping strategy for more than two years to secure the go-ahead for casinos in this year’s 88th Legislature.
A casino would also be authorized in each of the following three areas: San Antonio-New Braunfels, the Corpus Christi metro area and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission in south Texas.Ī similar constitutional amendment has also been proposed in the Senate by Sen. The measure, House Joint Resolution 97, could open the door for casino gaming at seven destination resorts in Texas, including two in the Fort Worth-Arlington-Dallas area, the nation’s fourth most populous metropolitan region, and two in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugarland region.
