Monday, November 19, 2007

Rudy Gets His Gaming On In The Air

I have never spotted Rudy on the casino floor before on one of my trips to Vegas but that doesn't mean he doesn't know some of the most powerful gaming magnets in the country. Sheldon Adelson is one of the richest men in America thanks to gambling addicts everywhere and he lets Rudy share in some of the spoils.

From The Daily News:

Rudy Giuliani is jetting around the country wooing Bible-thumping conservatives, but his plane is often provided by a king of Sin City.

The Republican presidential hopeful anted up more than $122,000 last summer alone for jets traceable to casino kingpin Sheldon Adelson, whose Las Vegas Sands empire has made him the third-richest American, a Daily News review of campaign records shows.

Last quarter, The Sands' innocuously named Interface Operations LLC was the top provider of corporate jets to the frequently flying Giuliani, who was whisked around the country on the casino's plush Gulfstream G-IV in late August and early September, records show.


As the DN points out, some anti-gambling Republican activists are steamed at Rudy for using Adelson's jets. Now Rudy never claims to be the most virtuous of the Republican pack, but one has to wonder why he is dipping his hand in this cookie jar. The anti-gaming purity people are all over Iowa and while Rudy was going to write off both early states, he is investing a considerable amount in Iowa and New Hampshire. Maybe Rudy should have thought this through, but his ego will never admit to that.