Adelson Calls for Iran Nuclear Strike
Not content with merely infuriating supporters of regulated online betting in the United States, Las Vegas Sands head Sheldon Adelson is now broadcasting his opinions on foreign policy, remarking this week that he believes the U.S. should launch a pre-emptive nuclear attack on Iran, reported the New York Times’ The Lede blog.
Pro-Israel Adelson believes nuclear strike would send a message
Adelson, a Jewish American who is a major supporter of Republican causes – the Times says he gave over $100 million to GOP interests in 2012 – spoke at Yeshiva University in New York this week and told the group gathered there that he supports launching a nuclear attack on Iran’s desert.
Adelson, an 80-year-old billionaire whose wife is Israeli, said that such a strike would send an important message to Iran’s leaders that the country could be “wiped out” – though it should be noted that Adelson, erroneously, as many quickly pointed out, envisions such an offensive hitting an unpopulated, barren desert and therefore causing no casualties.
“If you really want peace, it’s very simple to send a message to your opposition,” Adelson was quoted in the Jersusalem Post.
You pick up your cell phone and you call somewhere in Nebraska and you say, ‘OK let it go.’ And so there’s an atomic weapon, goes over ballistic missiles, the middle of the desert, that doesn’t hurt a soul. Maybe a couple of rattlesnakes, and scorpions, or whatever. Then you say, ‘See! The next one is in the middle of Tehran. So, we mean business. You want to be wiped out? Go ahead and take a tough position and continue with your nuclear development,” Adelson said at Yeshiva on Tuesday.
Needless to say, those in favor of taking a diplomatic approach with Iran quickly dismissed Adelson’s comments, noting that any such attack, contrary to Adelson’s belief, would likely harm more than a few souls.
Adelson angered pro-online gambling factions last summer
Adelson is no stranger to making inflammatory remarks. This past June, the casino mogul, whose wealth and reputation were solidified over a long career in the gambling industry, wrote an op-ed piece published on Forbes.com that called online wagering “a toxin which all good people ought to resist.”
The Forbes article angered many proponents of regulated online gambling in the U.S., who point out that legalizing Internet wagering at the federal level would lead to more stringent oversight of the industry and would likely solve many of the problems that Adelson believes would stem from allowing Americans access to real money online gambling sites, among them access by underage players and an increase in problem gambling.
Regulation of Internet betting occurring state by state
Whether Adelson likes it or not, however, regulated Internet betting is becoming a reality in the United States, with three states already enacting laws to allow residents access to such sites as state by state regulation continues to progress in the absence of federal action on the issue.
Nevada became the first state in the nation to pass a law regulating online gambling when it cleared the way for real money online poker in 2011. Two sites have launched in the Silver State thus far, Ultimate Poker and a WSOP-branded poker room. In Nevada, only online poker is permitted to the exclusion of other forms of Internet betting.
In the other two states that have passed similar legislation, a more comprehensive array of online betting options will be available. Delaware expects to see its real money online wagering web sites go live this fall, and in New Jersey the market is scheduled to go live on November 26 at 9 a.m. local time.
New Jersey, which requires iGaming operations be tied to land-based casinos in Atlantic City, has thus far issued five permits. The Borgata, the Golden Nugget, the Trump Taj Mahal, the Trump Plaza, and the Tropicana have all received the go-ahead from New Jersey gaming regulators.
