Home / Poker News November 2013 / Lesniak to Fight Back Against Adelson
Lesniak to Fight Back Against Adelson
Posted by: Jo Martin - Thu, 2013-11-21 05:13
According to Newton’s third law, in the world of physics, every action force elicits an equal-size reaction force in the opposite direction, and since the real world is governed by the laws of physics, it doesn’t really come as a surprise that Sheldon Adelson’s much-hyped anti internet-gaming campaign announced a few days ago has already drummed up some formidable opposition.
New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak vowed that he would “stop Adelson in his tracks”. Lesniak said he had already contacted various relevant authorities in the Garden State warning them of the Adelson storm to come.
He also said he had the economy of New Jersey at his side in the fight and given that thousands of jobs depend on legal online gambling in the state, he would stop at nothing to defend what essentially amounts to his brainchild. Lesniak also called online gambling the lifeline of Atlantic City, and said that once rolling, there was no way Adelson could stop the
online poker/gambling bandwagon.
It was only a couple of days ago that news broke about Adelson’s hiring of various high-profile lobbyists for his anti-online gaming crusade, and according to Lesniak, one of the parties hired by the casino mogul is none other than George Pataki, New York’s former Governor, who had apparently supported lotteries during his tenure.
According to PPA executive director John Pappas, Adelson’s offensive was largely based on regurgitated arguments of 10 years ago, which may have made sense then and there, but which no longer held any water in this day and age, due to the fact that regulation has become so much stronger.
Lesniak does not underestimate Adelson’s resolve though. He fully expects him to sponsor a lawmaker to introduce a federal bill banning online poker as well as online gambling in 2014, but he says he feels confident New Jersey Senators would nip such an effort in the bud.
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