Las Vegas Review Journal New Owner is Casino Magnate Sheldon Adelson
Fortune Magazine has reported that casino magnate and GOP mega donor Sheldon Adelson is the new owner of Nevada’s biggest newspaper the Las Vegas Review Journal.
The story was so hot that Fortune’s website was not loading throughout much of Wednesday evening.
Some have speculated that Adelson purchased the paper to help boost one of the GOP candidates, quite possibly Florida Senator Marco Rubio. Nevada is the 4th state where a caucus/primary will be held after Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
The Huffington Post noted this weekend:
It's highly unusual for a newspaper owner to remain secret. Typically, wealthy buyers of newspapers want the public clout that comes with owning a media outlet, and journalists around the country expressed surprise at word of a secret ownership.
There has been speculation about the backers' motivations and identities, including whether billionaire casino mogul and Republican donor Sheldon Adelson could be involved in the sale. (An Adelson representative did not respond to a request for comment.)
The mysterious ownership structure could also lead to Review-Journal reporters unknowingly wading into conflicts of interest if covering businesses owned by the undisclosed backers. The lack of disclosure appears hypocritical given newspapers' traditional role of seeking transparency from others.
Adelson is an ardent opponent of online gambling, helping to draft legislation prohibiting the activity at the federal level. Rubio is among the supporters of that bill.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
