Casino moghul and billionaire, Sheldon Adelson, met with Toronto’s mayor Rob Ford at City Hall for 45 minutes considering the statement made by the latter that the city is opening to a gambling complex.
George Christopoulos, Ford’s press secretary, conveyed that certain conditions will have to be met if the deal was to go through, in saying, “The mayor has said he would always be open minded to casinos but it had to be a good deal for taxpayers and in the best interest of the city.”
It is a fact that there are other casinos such as Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, Onex Corp and Woodbine Entertainment that are interested in this deal apart from Adelson’s company, Las Vegas Sand Corp. However, it seemed that this meeting concluded in a promising manner considering the fact that the Mayor and Adelson are both conservatives, politically speaking.
Yet it must be pointed out that not everyone might be in favor of the opening of a casino as a report which covers the pros and cons of the venture will be released in the fall. Ultimately, the opening of the casino largely depends on whether the municipality wants one or not.
While a series of articles in the Wall Street Journal have reported that the Las Vegas Sand Corp. is under scrutiny for violating antibribery and money laundering laws in the United States, Adelson with five other executives have registered as lobbyists at city hall.
Mark Towhey, the mayor’s chief of staff, and Earl Provost, director of stakeholder relations, also attended the meeting between the Mayor and Adelson.