Las Vegas is about to get robbed, and the version of “Ocean’s Eleven” pulling off this heist is masquerading as elected officials and local press.

After having MGM Grand (which already operates the Grand Garden Arena in town) and sports conglomerate Anschutz Entertainment Group build T-Mobile Arena, pick up the entire tab and woo a National Hockey League expansion team, Las Vegas is about to watch its legislature make off with $750 million in tax dollars and hand it to a casino operator and, potentially, a National Football League franchise owner.

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis said at the end of April that would help move his NFL franchise to Vegas. However, the Raiders are currently an alternate for the second-tenant spot at the Los Angeles Rams’ new stadium and have a league commissioner in Roger Goodell who’d prefer that they stay in Oakland.

None of that has mattered in Vegas, where unemployment remains higher than the national average, foreclosures are ranked in the top 20 in the country and one in every four houses has a mortgage loan with a balance higher than the value of the house (according to RealtyTrac). Despite facing down a $400 million state budget deficit that imperils education spending, a Las Vegas committee approved a $1.9 billion stadium plan and rushed it to Gov. Brian Sandoval’s desk. The state Senate has approved it by a 16-5 vote, citing jobs, and now its fate is in the hands of the Assembly.

Don’t expect the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper to point out what a terrible deal this is for the city, which will be paying the single-largest sum of up-front public money (bond interest always adds up to more) ever paid for an NFL facility. It will be $130 million more than Indianapolis paid for Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008 and it would be more than the cost of any NFL stadium built prior to 2009. However, the Review-Journal is just one of the holdings in billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson’s portfolio. The newspaper, the Las Vegas Sands Casino Corp., multiple casinos (the Venetian in Vegas is his most well-known property) and multiple estates are all under his control, and this stadium would be the crown jewel.

If you think the other casino owners in Vegas have been anything other than Adelson’s flunkies during this entire debacle, you clearly overestimate them. Steve Wynn, Caesars’ Jan Jones Blackhurst, MGM’s Jim Murren and others think this deal will bring in the Raiders and a National Basketball Association team and will populate their hotel rooms, sports books and casino floors with even more willing suckers. With Vegas politicians facing an election year and reluctant to be the ones who take “jobs” — as fleeting and temporary as they’ll be — off the table, there’s a strong chance that this whizzes right through the Assembly and gets a nice rubber stamp from Gov. Sandoval.

Never mind that 55% of Clark County, Nevada, residents would rather not spend $500 million on an NFL stadium. Never mind that only 35% think it’s a good idea. Never mind that 60% of Nevada overall doesn’t want any part of this plan. It’s going to happen, and it doesn’t seem to matter if the Raiders play along or not.

Yes, despite the fact that the Raiders have managed to fall short of Oakland-Alameda Coliseum’s 56,067 capacity during two home games this season (and well short of the stadium’s actual 63,132 tarp-free capacity), there’s still no guarantee that if Las Vegas builds it, they’ll come. Los Angeles remains an option, and the league is still pushing for a solution in Oakland. It has promised $300 million toward a stadium project, a group owned by former Raider Ronnie Lott has proposed buying a portion of the team for $400 million and a new Oakland stadium would cost an estimated $1 billion. That leaves owner Mark Davis on the hook for $300 million, or $200 million less than he’d reportedly pay in Las Vegas.

Keep in mind, a privately funded stadium would also maintain the NFL’s hold on the Bay Area market and its 2.5 million television households. With Oakland seeing an influx of new residents and increased developments, the NFL knows it can get in on the ground floor of the one spot in the Bay Area that hasn’t already maxed out its potential. Compare that to Vegas, where 736,700 television households don’t tend to generate nearly as much disposable income ($51,552) as the Bay Area ($73,562) does.

The NFL would still have to approve any move the Raiders make and, given the quickness with which it dispatched the Raiders plan for a stadium with the chargers in Carson, Calif., the league’s OK isn’t a given. With economists already questioning the value of a Las Vegas stadium, especially one that relies on 22,000 tourists to reach capacity each game day, it’s going to take a lot to convince the league of this stadium’s merits. Then again, with tax dollars subsidizing 39% of it, maybe the league’s just as willing as the casino owner to part fools from their money.

Jason Notte is a freelance writer based in Portland, Ore. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Huffington Post and Esquire. Follow him on Twitter @Notteham.