{"id":51807,"date":"2017-06-06T17:49:37","date_gmt":"2017-06-07T00:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=51807"},"modified":"2017-06-06T17:54:29","modified_gmt":"2017-06-07T00:54:29","slug":"adelson-casino-wages-ad-war-pennsylvania-vgt-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/adelson-casino-wages-ad-war-pennsylvania-vgt-expansion\/","title":{"rendered":"Adelson Casino Wages Ad War Against Pennsylvania VGT Expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

An aggressive $1 million advertising campaign backed by Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, is attempting to block legislation in Pennsylvania that would allow video gaming terminals (VGTs) in truck stops, restaurants, bars, and off-track betting facilities.<\/p>\n

\"Sheldon
Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson is funding a group to fight\u00a0proposed legislation that threatens his hold on\u00a0gambling activity in the Keystone State.\u00a0(Image: AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adelson\u2019s Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is leading the fight against House Bill 1010, which would permit certain establishments to install VGTs offering real-money blackjack, poker, and other casino games.<\/p>\n

There are currently nearly 27,000 VGTs in Pennsylvania, all of them in the state\u2019s 12 casinos. If HB 1010 passes, the number could more than double.<\/p>\n

John Cunnane, a Wall Street gaming and leisure analyst for Stifel Investment Services, told the Allentown Morning Call<\/em> that such an expansion of VGTs and authorized VGT locations certainly could hurt established gaming facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s an insane number of VGTs, and we’ve seen the impact that’s had on casinos in places like Iowa and Illinois,\u201d Cunnane said. \u201cIt won’t cause a mass exodus from casinos, but they will feel the pain, no doubt.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Media Wars<\/h2>\n

Through Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, Adeslon gave $1 million to Pennsylvanians For Responsible Government (PRG), a newly formed lobbying organization producing the ads for TV, radio, and social media.<\/p>\n

\n

The million-dollar ad campaign launched just two weeks after a $1.3 billion deal to sell Sands Bethlehem to MGM Resorts fell apart, supposedly because of the threat the legislation posed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The ads feature \u201cdoom and gloom\u201d prognostications outlining how VGTs in places anywhere other than a currently licensed casino will destroy Pennsylvania neighborhoods and cost the state $1.4 billion in tax revenue.<\/p>\n

The claims are largely unsubstantiated, or at best use out-of-context \u201cfacts\u201d and figures to mislead viewers about what the bill\u2019s proposing and its impacts.<\/p>\n

Deceptive Tactics<\/h2>\n

State Rep. Mark Mustio, (R-Allegheny) criticized the ads for using deceptive tactics to mislead Pennsylvania citizens about the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are trying to create a boogieman and I’m not interested in playing that game,\u201d Mustio told The<\/em> Morning Call<\/em>. \u201cIf they can spend $1 million for an ad campaign, maybe we should raise their taxes.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Sands is the only one of Pennsylvania\u2019s 12 casinos currently participating in the astroturf alliance. Company spokespeople say they are certain more will join soon.<\/p>\n

\n

Part of PRG\u2019s message is that HB 1010 will cost thousands of jobs if gambling laws are changed to allow taverns to offer video casino games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis proposal would destroy the brick-and-mortar casino industry and risk the nearly $1.4 billion in tax revenues that these establishments generate annually,” said PRG spokesman Michael Barley. “Worse yet, because VGTs are designed to operate without employees, the 18,000 people casinos collectively employ in Pennsylvania will be put in serious jeopardy.”<\/p>\n

The ads put out by the group also say that the VGTs could be just a gateway provision legislatively that would eventually expand to allow slot machines on virtually every corner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An aggressive $1 million advertising campaign backed by Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, is attempting to block legislation in Pennsylvania that would allow video gaming terminals (VGTs) in truck stops, restaurants, bars, and off-track betting facilities. Adelson\u2019s Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is leading the fight against House Bill 1010, which would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":51812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdelson Casino Wages Ad War Against Pennsylvania VGT Expansion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem\u00a0is shelling out $1 million for an ad campaign lambasting proposed expansion of VGTs as bad for Pennsylvania.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Adelson Casino Wages Ad War Against Pennsylvania VGT Expansion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem\u00a0is shelling out $1 million for an ad campaign lambasting proposed expansion of VGTs as bad for Pennsylvania.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/adelson-casino-wages-ad-war-pennsylvania-vgt-expansion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-07T00:49:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-06-07T00:54:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/adelson-PA.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"605\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"328\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/adelson-casino-wages-ad-war-pennsylvania-vgt-expansion\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/adelson-casino-wages-ad-war-pennsylvania-vgt-expansion\/\",\"name\":\"Adelson Casino Wages Ad War Against Pennsylvania VGT Expansion\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/adelson-casino-wages-ad-war-pennsylvania-vgt-expansion\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/adelson-casino-wages-ad-war-pennsylvania-vgt-expansion\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/adelson-PA.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-07T00:49:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-06-07T00:54:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem\u00a0is shelling out $1 million for an ad campaign lambasting proposed expansion of VGTs as bad for Pennsylvania.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/adelson-casino-wages-ad-war-pennsylvania-vgt-expansion\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/adelson-casino-wages-ad-war-pennsylvania-vgt-expansion\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/adelson-casino-wages-ad-war-pennsylvania-vgt-expansion\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/adelson-PA.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/adelson-PA.jpg\",\"width\":605,\"height\":328,\"caption\":\"Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson is funding a group fighting proposed legislation that would allow VGTs in bars, restaurants, truck stops, and off track betting sites. 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