LVS Las Vegas Sands Corp

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)

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