Mark Cuban Regrets Selling Mavericks to Casino Tycoon Miriam Adelson

Casino tycoon and Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson has earned the displeasure of a prominent individual—the man who sold her the team, billionaire Mark Cuban.

During an interview in the “Intersections” podcast released on Monday night, Cuban said that he stood by his decision to sell the team. He also copped to making “a lot of mistakes” during the process, including selecting Adelson and her family as the new owners of the franchise. 

Adelson, her daughter, Sivan, and her son-in-law, Las Vegas Sands CEO Patrick Dumont, have attempted to use their new positions in Texas to strong-arm legislators into supporting their gambling enterprise. However, just like the Mavericks 2025-26, their wins have been greatly outweighed by their losses.

Cuban detests Mavericks sale to casino family

Cuban, a businessman, entrepreneur, and one of the stars of Shark Tank, purchased the Mavericks in Jan. 2000 for $285 million. He sold 73 percent of the franchise at a $3.5 billion valuation to Adelson’s family in Dec. 2023, holding onto the remaining 23 percent.

About half of a year after he sold the team, the Mavericks lost the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2024. On Feb. 2, 2025, ex-General Manager Nico Harrison announced that he traded franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package that included Anthony Davis, which did not go down well with Cuban.

While Harrison claimed that the move came down to old sports adage that “defense wins championships,” several other rumors swirled.

A report released at the end of the March implied that the trade happened after Doncic stood up for teammate Maxi Kleber, who was also traded to the Lakers, after he had been chewed out in front of the team by Dumont.

Conspiracy theorists surmised that the Adelson’s could also have intentionally tried to tank their reputation with their fans to force a move to America’s gambling capital and the base of their casino business, Las Vegas.

Other rumors suggested that Adelson, who was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, traded Doncic after his native Slovenia in June 2024 became the fourth European nation to formally recognize the Palestinian state. 

Adelson is among the most affluent champions of her native country. Her family contributed more than $600 million to President Donald Trump’s three presidential campaigns, and, during his first administration, convinced him to relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“If you condemn Hamas and then add a ‘but’ followed by condemnation of Israel, you’re dead to us,” she wrote in a Nov. 2023 op-ed published in Israel Hayom, a media outlet she owns. “If you insist Israel is obligated to seek accommodation with Hamas, an idea you would never have entertained for Western powers that fought the Nazis, al-Qaida, or ISIS, you’re dead to us.”

Casinos no closer in Texas

Mavericks fans have not taken kindly to the Adelsons’ management of their team thus far. Dumont has been booed whenever he’s attended games, Harrison was fired last fall, and the team has the sixth-worst record in the NBA at the time of writing.

Despite those losses, it’s the one that occurred off the court that could be the most negative for the ownership group.

Adelson and Cuban originally agreed on a long-term vision of integrating a casino-resort with a new Mavericks arena in Dallas. That hinged upon the legalization of casino-style gaming, such as live-dealer table games, slot machines, and poker, in one of America’s most anti-gamling states.

Despite hiring more than 100 lobbyists and supporting a variety of political campaigns, all efforts to legalize gambling have proven to be relatively fruitless. Texas is no more open to wagering than it was when the family first acquired the team, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who controls the Senate, has vowed to kill all casino and sports betting-related bills.

As the ownership group continues to push for legislative changes, Doncic is making an MVP charge on the West Coast. He averaged 37.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game during March, leading the Lakers to a record of 14-2 with him on the floor.