Inside Asian Gaming

February 2012 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 25 Enter Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire 20 times over with a long history of putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to bankrolling right-wing causes. Freedom’s Watch was the one that got him the most notoriety. With ties to the Republican Jewish Coalition and then-Vice President Dick Cheney, it was formed in 2007 for the initial purpose of drumming up support for the Bush administration’s plans to step up the war in Iraq, which was going badly. This expanded into ads urging an attack on Iran; a Cheney obsession. But Americans had thoroughly soured on military adventures in the Middle East by then, and the group’s focus shifted to pushing for Republican candidates for Congress, which got it into some hot water under the election rules of the time. Then the credit crisis hit, and with LVS fighting for its corporate life, Mr Adelson had other things on his mind. Freedom’s Watch disbanded after the Democratic landslide in 2008. Depending on how much he ultimately spends in the 2012 presidential race, it won’t be surprising if he becomes something of a lightning rod once more as calls for electoral reform become more vocal in the wake of Citizens United . But in fairness to Mr Adelson, it’s the system that has handed him the keys. Noah Feldman, a constitutional law expert at Harvard University, put it succinctly in a recent interview in the British newspaper The Guardian : “It is an arms race of money. You can imagine a world where you can’t get elected without the backing of a billionaire. Mr Adelson is not breaking any rules. But the rules are mad.” ‘Newt World’ The story is they first met in Washington Controversial ruling—commentary on Citizens United v.Federal Election Commission Alarm Bell In May 2010, Newt Gingrich was featured in Sheldon Adelson’s free Israeli daily tabloid, Israel Hayom . This full-page photo of Mr Gingrich featured the banner headline: “The Obama Administration is Denying Reality.” The tabloid ran an accompanying article that stated: “The behaviour of the Obama administration regarding Iran and terror is characterised by a complete disconnect from reality. Gingrich, a prominent Republican Party leader, warns that the Western Elites are evading a confrontation with Evil and that the flight from reality could bring a second Holocaust to the Jewish People. An alarm bell, before it’s too late.”