Sheldon Adelson, owner of Venetian, gearing up for major fight against online gambling

[Dan Druff]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...6d4_story.html

He is going to spend a lot of money on anti-online-gambling ads.

“In my 15 years of working with him, I don’t think I have ever seen him this passionate about any issue,” said Andy Abboud, Adelson’s top political adviser.

So this 80-year-old codger is pretty much going to spend what remains of his life trying to thwart legalized online poker legistlation.

The PPA is calling for boycotts of Adelson-owned properties (such as Venetian), complaining on their Facebook pages, and reaching out to politicians via social media in order to combat this.

This is all useless.

I agree that this is likely to hurt the push for legalized US online poker, and that it's very frustrating to be an online poker player and see this.

Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do.

Adelson is doing this on principle, not really out of financial interest. Some theorize that he's afraid it will decimate his land-based business, but it's not about that. He just doesn't like online gambling.

Adelson does not care what you, I, or anyone thinks. He spent $100 million to support Mitt Romney, and did not care about potentially alienating half his customer base.

This is an 80-year-old guy with a ton of money, and he wants to spend it to push for his own ideology.

A boycott of Venetian is nice in principle (and I agree with it), but will do nothing to change the situation. Even if every pro and semi-pro poker player never set foot in Venetian again, it would account for only a tiny reduction in their bottom line.

The only way to really fight this is to respond in kind with opposing propaganda/ads, which unfortunately I don't think the PPA or any other poker entity is properly funded to do so.

Hopefully MGM, Caesars, and whoever else will put up some of their own cash to combat Adelson's efforts. But this is largely out of our hands at this point.

[cmoney]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...6d4_story.html

He is going to spend a lot of money on anti-online-gambling ads.

“In my 15 years of working with him, I don’t think I have ever seen him this passionate about any issue,” said Andy Abboud, Adelson’s top political adviser.

So this 80-year-old codger is pretty much going to spend what remains of his life trying to thwart legalized online poker legistlation.

The PPA is calling for boycotts of Adelson-owned properties (such as Venetian), complaining on their Facebook pages, and reaching out to politicians via social media in order to combat this.

This is all useless.



I agree that this is likely to hurt the push for legalized US online poker, and that it's very frustrating to be an online poker player and see this.

Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do.

Adelson is doing this on principle, not really out of financial interest. Some theorize that he's afraid it will decimate his land-based business, but it's not about that. He just doesn't like online gambling.

Adelson does not care what you, I, or anyone thinks. He spent $100 million to support Mitt Romney, and did not care about potentially alienating half his customer base.

This is an 80-year-old guy with a ton of money, and he wants to spend it to push for his own ideology.

A boycott of Venetian is nice in principle (and I agree with it), but will do nothing to change the situation. Even if every pro and semi-pro poker player never set foot in Venetian again, it would account for only a tiny reduction in their bottom line.

The only way to really fight this is to respond in kind with opposing propaganda/ads, which unfortunately I don't think the PPA or any other poker entity is properly funded to do so.

Hopefully MGM, Caesars, and whoever else will put up some of their own cash to combat Adelson's efforts. But this is largely out of our hands at this point.

He should be investing his billions in hail mary life extension treatments instead of worry about something I like this. If i was 80 I would be much more concerned about if I was going to live the next 5 years.

Most people that support the PPA cant afford to eat at any restaurant in the Palazzo let alone stay there so really pointless posturing.

[sah_24]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...6d4_story.html

He is going to spend a lot of money on anti-online-gambling ads.

“In my 15 years of working with him, I don’t think I have ever seen him this passionate about any issue,” said Andy Abboud, Adelson’s top political adviser.

So this 80-year-old codger is pretty much going to spend what remains of his life trying to thwart legalized online poker legistlation.

The PPA is calling for boycotts of Adelson-owned properties (such as Venetian), complaining on their Facebook pages, and reaching out to politicians via social media in order to combat this.

This is all useless.

I agree that this is likely to hurt the push for legalized US online poker, and that it's very frustrating to be an online poker player and see this.

Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do.

Adelson is doing this on principle, not really out of financial interest. Some theorize that he's afraid it will decimate his land-based business, but it's not about that. He just doesn't like online gambling.

Adelson does not care what you, I, or anyone thinks. He spent $100 million to support Mitt Romney, and did not care about potentially alienating half his customer base.

This is an 80-year-old guy with a ton of money, and he wants to spend it to push for his own ideology.

A boycott of Venetian is nice in principle (and I agree with it), but will do nothing to change the situation. Even if every pro and semi-pro poker player never set foot in Venetian again, it would account for only a tiny reduction in their bottom line.

The only way to really fight this is to respond in kind with opposing propaganda/ads, which unfortunately I don't think the PPA or any other poker entity is properly funded to do so.

Hopefully MGM, Caesars, and whoever else will put up some of their own cash to combat Adelson's efforts. But this is largely out of our hands at this point.

God I hate this guy more than anyone on the planet ! This is also what make me be disgusted to be an american , this is exactly how our entire political/law passing system works . This guy is the reason that UIGEA happened and he will also be the reason that we will never have federal online poker until he dies or our country goes through some drastic changes . Lobbying has so much power in the current setup , unless your a billionaire or more , you don't really mean a god damn thing in the good ole US of A .

LOL MERICA !

[TheXFactor]

Sheldon Adelson has a net worth over $28.5 Billion.

He spent over $150 million on Republicans in 2012.
He has too much money to burn.

Anyone who gives $1 million to any political party,
Democrat or Republican, should be taxed at 95%.

Regardless, what these legal online poker rooms in Nevada,
spend they won't make a dent in the worldwide illegal online poker business.

PokerStars will always be the #1 online poker company in the world.
They should be airing ads on TV in America, to get players to move to
other countries like Canada or Mexico so they can play online poker again.

Fuck the PPA!!!

[Dan Druff]

American Gaming Association (of which Adelson's Sands corporation is member) said the following, in response to his upcoming efforts:

Time and again, government efforts to prohibit use of everyday products have failed. In 2012, Americans spent nearly $3 billion gambling with rogue offshore operators. The Internet cannot be forced back into the bottle — nor can market demand. We support pragmatism and strong regulation of online gaming that protects consumers, prevents underage play, ensures the integrity of the games and empowers law enforcement. New government efforts to prohibit online gaming will unintentionally strengthen black market providers, create more risk for American consumers, including children, and drive U.S. jobs and potential revenues overseas. We appreciate divergent viewpoints and welcome a healthy discussion on this complex issue.

[Sitting Out]

In this nation, $'s control everything, just look at congress, knee deep in legal bribes. If you got the money you can shape policy. There's a reason that the top 10% own 70% of the wealth. Using his money to influence his beliefs is evil. Someday, this must(will) change, but until then, the billionaires are in control of how laws are formed. It's normally just not as transparent as in this instance....

[JUSTIFIEDhomicide]

Ughh, How am I supposed to hit rock bottom again?

[DRK Star]

Sheldon Adelson has a net worth over $28.5 Billion.

He spent over $150 million on Republicans in 2012.
He has too much money to burn.

Anyone who gives $1 million to any political party,
Democrat or Republican, should be taxed at 95%.

Regardless, what these legal online poker rooms in Nevada,
spend they won't make a dent in the worldwide illegal online poker business.

PokerStars will always be the #1 online poker company in the world.
They should be airing ads on TV in America, to get players to move to
other countries like Canada or Mexico so they can play online poker again.

Fuck the PPA!!!

I would assume that if he is going to "Donate" this much money for political reasons, he is expecting to make that amount back somehow from his efforts AND THEN SOME.

[Fringinhard]

lol at this lonely old poor person trying to fire shots at cmoney

[TheXFactor]

http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns...ernet-gambling

Sheldon Adelson has called internet gambling immoral, fools gold and a threat to society.

He claims that 67% of Americans oppose legalizing internet gambling.

"Click your mouse and lose your house".

This time, Adelson says he's doing it for the children.

Sheldon Adelson is founder and 53% owner of the Las Vegas Sands, which made more than
$11 Billion in revenue last year.

(Actually, he's just a lucky son of a bitch who made over $1 Billion from the sale of the Comdex
convention years ago and he leveraged that cash into his casinos.)

Adelson has fucked over every business partner he ever had and travels with an armed security
detail.

85% of Las Vegas Sands revenue comes from Macau and Singapore.
Maybe Adelson should just become a full-time Chinese resident and
renounce his American citizenship.

[Daly]

God I hate this guy more than anyone on the planet ! This is also what make me be disgusted to be an american , this is exactly how our entire political/law passing system works . This guy is the reason that UIGEA happened and he will also be the reason that we will never have federal online poker until he dies or our country goes through some drastic changes . Lobbying has so much power in the current setup , unless your a billionaire or more , you don't really mean a god damn thing in the good ole US of A .

LOL MERICA !

[thesidedish]

http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns...ernet-gambling

Sheldon Adelson has called internet gambling immoral, fools gold and a threat to society.

He claims that 67% of Americans oppose legalizing internet gambling.

"Click your mouse and lose your house".

This time, Adelson says he's doing it for the children.

Sheldon Adelson is founder and 53% owner of the Las Vegas Sands, which made more than
$11 Billion in revenue last year.

(Actually, he's just a lucky son of a bitch who made over $1 Billion from the sale of the Comdex
convention years ago and he leveraged that cash into his casinos.)

Adelson has fucked over every business partner he ever had and travels with an armed security
detail.

85% of Las Vegas Sands revenue comes from Macau and Singapore.
Maybe Adelson should just become a full-time Chinese resident and
renounce his American citizenship.

this old guy's behind the times. Yes morally it was the right thing to ban them in the first place but now we, the people, are ready

[Daly]

CNBC is running a spot on this right now...

[Daly]

Blanche Lincoln Former Senator from Arkansas "coalition to stop internet gambling"

WE NEED TO SAVE THE CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TheEngineer]

The PPA is calling for boycotts of Adelson-owned properties (such as Venetian)

I think people ought not play there or patronize any of their businesses, but PPA has not called for a formal boycott. If we do, it won't be part of a strategy to win this, as it would never change Adelson's mind. It would simply be one of principle (the reason you and I won't patronize their businesses).

This is all useless.

No, it's useful. It demonstrates support and activism for our position. Given the resources at hand, it's also very cost effective.

Media tend to base reports on where they believe the public to be. If they think everyone wants a ban, reporting will reflect that, as we saw in the run up to UIGEA. OTOH, if they think the public wants poker, reporting will reflect that as well.

Here's a comment WA activist Curtis Woodward posted on USA Today's online comment section that made the paper version:

Adelson does not care what you, I, or anyone thinks. He spent $100 million to support Mitt Romney, and did not care about potentially alienating half his customer base.

This is an 80-year-old guy with a ton of money, and he wants to spend it to push for his own ideology.

A boycott of Venetian is nice in principle (and I agree with it), but will do nothing to change the situation. Even if every pro and semi-pro poker player never set foot in Venetian again, it would account for only a tiny reduction in their bottom line.

True. Trying to change Adelson's mind now is pointless.

The only way to really fight this is to respond in kind with opposing propaganda/ads, which unfortunately I don't think the PPA or any other poker entity is properly funded to do so.

Hopefully MGM, Caesars, and whoever else will put up some of their own cash to combat Adelson's efforts. But this is largely out of our hands at this point.

It's an expensive fight. Those who wish to offer services, along with those who wish to use them, will have to step up.

Surely you're not suggesting that everyone should just sit around and no nothing (but attack PPA, of course) while waiting for casinos to step up?

[TheEngineer]

I posted the image upright. Note sure why it's rotated 90 degrees.

[Dan Druff]

No, it's useful. It demonstrates support and activism for our position. Given the resources at hand, it's also very cost effective.

Media tend to base reports on where they believe the public to be. If they think everyone wants a ban, reporting will reflect that, as we saw in the run up to UIGEA. OTOH, if they think the public wants poker, reporting will reflect that as well.

I don't understand what the media has to do with this one. A very small shift in pro-online-gaming media is not likely to sway any politicians or gaming control officers away from siding with Adelson. It's not like the media is highly anti-online-gaming, and a grassroots PPA campaign could completely turn it the other way. The poker community has been beating the pro-online-gaming drum for 7 years, and it's only been a slow process of acceptance. Any activism at this point is highly unlikely to make a difference, given Adelson's resources and influence, as well as the very slow process of "converting" the media perception.

It's an expensive fight. Those who wish to offer services, along with those who wish to use them, will have to step up.

Surely you're not suggesting that everyone should just sit around and no nothing (but attack PPA, of course) while waiting for casinos to step up?

No, I don't suggest we do nothing. I suggest we focus our attention upon the companies that can really put up a meaningful opposition to Adelson. Even there, we have very limited power, but the good news is that Caesar's/MGM/etc will be doing this on their own, anyway.

I am also not suggesting we attack the PPA over this. I just feel that our community is fairly powerless on this one, so while it feels unnatural to mostly sit on the sidelines, that's probably the right play, aside from encouraging the meaningful opposition to step up.

[Crowe Diddly]

[Daly]

States need money. Vegas Casinos need money. Washington politicians need money. Lobbyists need money.

The State and Casinos spread enough money around to get what they wanted. This is just a new Lobbyist group set up as a vehicle to buy off Washington politicians.

Right now way more money can be made with online gambling then anti activists can scrape together (Adelson included). The State of New Jersey isn't going to let this asshole stand in their way of making a buck. It dont mean he wont try and it dont mean some congressman in Washington wont take his money.

[sah_24]

Blanche Lincoln Former Senator from Arkansas "coalition to stop internet gambling"

WE NEED TO SAVE THE CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saw this in the morning on "squawkbox" , it was so hilarious how completely clueless she was . Big surprise washington morons that totally out of touch with reality , what else is new lol .