KTRH – The Texas Legislature doesn’t meet this year, but that hasn’t stopped the growing pressure on state lawmakers for legalized casino gambling in Texas.  Advocates are pushing lawmakers to approve a public vote on whether to allow casino-style gaming in the Lone Star State, arguing it would be a huge boost to the state’s economy, tax base, and overall competitiveness.  Detractors argue that the state’s economy is just fine as it is, and that legalized gambling would bring a new set of “costs” related to higher crime and societal problems associated with gaming. Among the biggest advocates of legalized…

A Texas gambling mogul has just sealed the deal to open a new Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Louisiana. Galveston native TiIlman Fertitta wants another bite of the estimated $2.5 billion Texans spend on gambling, which now goes out of state. He also wants a casino one day in Texas, but only under certain conditions. Even though gambling in Texas is illegal, polls repeatedly show there is strong public support for at least limited amounts of gaming. Texas Senator John Carona introduced a bill that would have put the issue before voters this November, but he pulled it from…