Friday, October 10, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

House speaker scolds casinos

Hastert says gaming industry's campaign gifts favor Democrats

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert lashed out at the casino industry this week for giving more money to Democrats than Republicans who are seeking election next year.

"The speaker is dismayed and disappointed that the gaming industry continues to place their bets on the wrong team," said Pete Jeffries, Hastert's communications director.

Hastert's criticism followed reports showing Democrats have received $1.17 million, or 54 percent of the gambling industry's contributions for the 2004 election cycle, compared with $1.01 million, or 46 percent for Republicans. The numbers came from The Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit and nonpartisan Washington, D.C., research group.

The breakdown for some individual casino companies showed an even greater disparity, including:

• Park Place Entertainment, giving 98 percent to Democrats out of contributions totaling $32,775.

• Station Casinos, giving 75 percent to Democrats out of contributions totaling $41,500.

• MGM Mirage, giving 73 percent to Democrats out of contributions totaling $154,175.

The trend of Democrats receiving more money from the gambling industry than Republicans stretches back to at least 1990. The lone exception occurred in 1998 when Republicans received more than $4 million from casinos compared to $2.6 million for Democrats.

Jan Jones, a former Democratic mayor of Las Vegas and now a senior vice president of government relations for Harrah's Entertainment, said the gambling contributions should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the Democratic Party over the GOP.

"We support candidates who are at least open to listen to our issues and that includes Republicans as well as Democrats," Jones said.

Harrah's contributions of $60,000 so far for next year's election include 58 percent for Democrats and 43 percent for Republicans.

Hastert, R-Ill., is not the only Republican who is disturbed by the casinos' contributions.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said he plans to meet with Nevada casino officials to find out why they are giving more money to Democrats.

"I want to make sure that the gaming industry does not have a problem with Republicans," Gibbons said.

Before announcing in August that he would seek another term in the House, Gibbons reportedly received little encouragement from Nevada casinos when he was exploring a possible challenge of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in 2004.

"This is not about Jim Gibbons," Gibbons said. "This is a broader issue about support for an industry and industry support for the political process."

Gibbons recently raised his concerns with the House Gaming Caucus, a group of primarily Republican lawmakers with gambling businesses in their districts.

Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said it's too early to draw conclusions from the casinos' contributions.

"Historically, the contributions from commercial casinos are fairly balanced," Fahrenkopf said.

Fahrenkopf cited two factors that may be holding down contributions by casinos to Republicans. One is a new campaign finance law that prohibits contributions of soft money, or unlimited sums to the national parties. A ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on the law's constitutionality is pending.

Fahrenkopf also noted that Reid and Rep. Shelley Berkley, another strong Democratic ally of casinos, announced plan to seek re-election early in the cycle.

Like Gibbons, Berkley and Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., are members of the House Gaming Caucus. But neither Berkley nor Porter expressed concern about casinos' contributions to Democrats.

"My experience is that the gaming industry is a very generous supporter of members on both sides of the aisle who support their issues," Berkley said.

Porter said the contribution totals so far may be misleading.

"I think these numbers are like taking a snapshot in time, and could be an anomaly," he said.