Rachel Maddow: A Sheldon Adelson Justice Department Would Make ‘Macau’ Probe Go Away (Video)
Sands boss, billionaire and one of the top contributors to the Republican party, Sheldon Adelson, is fast becoming one of the most loathed men within the poker community. Many players have called for an all-out boycott of his properties. These include the Sands, Venetian and the Palazzo in Las Vegas. Sands also operates properties in other parts of the US including Bethlehem, Pennsylvania as well as in China's Macau.
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The disdain for Adelson has little to do with his support of the Republican party but rather his lack of support for legalized online poker inside the US. He is one of the only casino heads who opposes such legislation but Adelson, as we all pretty much know by now, has more clout than a number of his colleagues combined, dare we say all of his casino colleagues combined should Mitt Romney come into office.
He claims to be against legalizing Internet poker on “moral grounds”, yet MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow featured an interesting “must see” piece Monday night questioning Adelson’s “moral grounds” as they apply to his business dealings in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. There appears to be a US Justice Department probe of the casino magnate's business dealings in Macau.
From MSNBC.com:
Discussion about Adelson's motivation for backing the Republican Party usually rotates around two things: his support for Israel's government and his opposition to labor unions. But a new investigation finds that there may be a third motivation: saving himself from a Department of Justice investigation.
PBS Frontline and ProPublica have found that Nevada and federal investigators are looking into Adelson's extensive casino business in Macau. Included among the investigation are possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which Adelson may have run afoul of by directing legal fees payments to a Macau legislator.
"[Adelson] is the guy at the heart of this mess in Macau, and the federal investigation into it," mused MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. "If you were that guy...how much would it be worth it to you to get a brand new Justice Department installed in Washington?"
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CosmicChuck writes:
"If you were that guy...how much would it be worth it to you to get a brand new Justice Department installed in Washington?"
For a "pro-Adelson" Justice Dept., that would be corrupt enough to ignore Adelson's "alleged" corruption - that would be Priceless!
However, just being successful in buying the Presidency for Mitt would not be sufficient. He's have to also buy enough Senate races to get a Super-Majority of the Senate that shares Rand Paul's political philosophy - with a Libertarian anti-government attitude, in order for the appointees for AG and other Justice Dept. positions to get confirmed by the Senate.
I don't think there are enough anti-Obama/pro-Romney votes for Adelson to get his way, especially when most Americans aren't as naive as to accept what the educationally-challenged Limbaugh, or his similarly prejudiced cohorts at Faux News, have to say as if it were the "Gospel Truth." And Romney's arrogant decision not to release any additional tax returns will just induce those who are pro-Obama and those who are undecided about Romney to dig where they can.
Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
