By Alexandra Berzon and Kate O'Keeffe
During a recent appearance on a political talk show, casino
executive Jim Murren spoke of his support for Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, while investor Carl Icahn,
who owns several casinos, voiced his approval for Republican
candidate Donald Trump, himself a former casino owner.
One issue that never came up: gambling, which is a significant
shift for the industry in the U.S.
The commercial casino industry here, which generates about $40
billion in revenue annually, once was on the defensive in national
politics, especially within the Republican party, where many social
conservatives considered gambling a vice. Yet, in the last decade
casino owners and executives increasingly have emerged from the
political background.
In the 2012 election cycle, Las Vegas Sands Corp. owner Sheldon
Adelson raised eyebrows by making about $100 million in donations
to Republicans. This election cycle, a former casino owner is
running for president.
The current political dynamic represents the culmination of
decades of efforts by casino companies to portray theirs as a
mainstream industry that provides economic benefits and
entertainment.
"Our jobs are every bit as patriotic as auto worker jobs," said
Mr. Murren, chief executive of MGM Resorts International and
chairman of the main casino-industry trade association, the
American Gaming Association.
Gambling opponents say they have been struck by the casino
presence hovering over the national election, including a July
appearance by Mrs. Clinton in Atlantic City, the struggling New
Jersey gambling mecca. There, Mrs. Clinton spoke about Mr. Trump's
record of casino bankruptcies, but didn't make an issue of her
opponent's having operated a gambling business. Mr. Trump owned
four Atlantic City casinos at one point, but lost control as they
went through bankruptcy court several times.
Historically, "the act of running a gambling house was seen as a
dishonorable business," said Les Bernal, executive director of the
anti-gambling group Stop Predatory Gambling. These days, gambling
is so entrenched in U.S. culture, he said, that "when Hillary
Clinton has a press conference in Atlantic City she's not slamming
Trump for running a dishonest and predatory business. It's because
he lost money running [that] business."
A Clinton campaign spokeswoman said the speech was focused on
Mr. Trump's general business record. Representatives for Mr. Trump
didn't respond to requests for comment.
As casinos have spread nationwide, Congress and activists across
the political spectrum largely have shelved the issue. "Once
gambling is in a state, it's hard to remove it," said Carrie Gordon
Earll, a public-policy executive at Christian-values group Focus on
the Family. While the group still opposes gambling, it has
"realigned" its priorities because of budget considerations, she
said in an email.
Major so-called "antigambling" bills in Congress seek only to
ban online gambling and are supported by some of the internet
firms' brick-and-mortar rivals such as Mr. Adelson. Most of the
legislators sponsoring the bills have accepted donations from the
gambling industry, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of
data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Mr. Adelson easily would become the largest donor of this
election cycle if he follows through on plans to spend $45 million
to support Republicans in the coming months, earmarking at least $5
million for Mr. Trump, according to a person familiar with the
matter. Mr. Trump met with the megadonor twice in recent weeks,
including at a fundraiser hosted by Phil Ruffin, another casino
owner and close friend of the candidate.
(Mr. Adelson sued Wall Street Journal reporter Kate O'Keeffe for
libel in 2013. A spokeswoman for the Journal, which wasn't named in
the suit, said the newspaper would continue to vigorously defend
Ms. O'Keeffe.)
Of the nine businessmen Mr. Trump named to his economic-advisory
team in August, six have been involved with gambling companies,
including John Paulson, a major shareholder in casino giants
Caesars Entertainment Corp. and MGM. A spokesman for Mr. Paulson
said he had no comment.
Casino owners have been formidable lobbying forces since the
1990s, when they successfully fended off attempts at legislation in
Congress to roll back the industry as it began to expand. Those
discussions with politicians, however, generally took place behind
the scenes so as not to invite more scrutiny, say people
involved.
Now that casinos are in more than 40 states, the industry's main
lobbying group, the AGA, has switched tactics to go on the
offensive, holding "Gaming Votes" round-table events in swing
states to publicize what it says is the benefit of gambling
expansion. The group hopes to persuade states to reduce gambling
taxes and regulations, said AGA executive director Geoff Freeman.
"For too long the industry has flown beneath the radar screen and
didn't want to attract attention. That's a missed opportunity," he
said.
The new tactic concerns some industry leaders. "It could
backfire to have gambling more in your face," said one. "There is
still a large body of legislators, and certainly in areas of the
country, where you are still perceived to be a sin industry."
Still, executives across the industry say they are looking
forward to the final presidential debate on Oct. 19 as another
opportunity to showcase casinos because it is scheduled to take
place at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Frank Fahrenkopf, a
co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates and former
director of the AGA, said he had suggested to the university that
they bid to host the event because of his affinity for Nevada,
where he lived for many years.
--Rebecca Ballhaus contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 28, 2016 05:44 ET (09:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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