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Florida Senator and U.S. Presidential hopeful Republican Marco Rubio insists his recent support of a measure to ban most forms of online gambling at the federal level has nothing to do with the man who is pushing said legislation, GOP mega donor and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
The Restoration of America’s Wire Act, drafted by another Republican Presidential hopeful South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week. Rubio brings much higher name recognition to that piece of legislation.
“People buy into my agenda. I don’t buy into theirs,” Rubio said when asked about his support for the bill and its ties to gambling kingpin Adelson. “When I run for office, I tell people where I stand. … My stands are not influenced by my contributors; I hope my stands influence my contributors.”
Rubio, for his part, has stood against gambling expansion in his native Florida but has rarely, if ever, made mention of Internet gambling.
The bill appears to have little support in the House where another Representative, Republican Joe Barton of Texas, introduced pro-Internet gambling legislation the very next day after RAWA’s introduction. Barton’s bill looks to legalize Web poker at the federal level.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
