Steve Wynn Calls US Efforts to Stymie Online Gambling Like That of Prohibition (Video)
Vegas casino tycoon Steve Wynn spoke this week about the launch of Internet gambling in New Jersey and compared the US Government’s attempts to quash the activity to that of prohibition in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
“I’m not sure as I stand here where online gaming is going,” Wynn said. “Within the state of New Jersey it’s legal. Its status in America is much in doubt," Wynn acknowledged.
"Playing poker is America, and outlawing poker is like the Volstead Act where they outlawed beer,” Wynn told reporters in the Wynn Las Vegas atrium following the unveiling of two floral sculptures designed by Preston Bailey.
Wynn also discussed casino billionaire and GOP donor Sheldon Adelson’s aggressive efforts to stop Web gambling.
“I think it’s questionable whether Sheldon will be able to stop it, which is not to say he is wrong,” Wynn said. “I just think this sort of thing has a life of its own. I‘m neither a proponent nor opponent of it. I’m an observer of this process and the chairman of a publicly traded company that is required to pay attention to such things.”
Wynn’s company has teamed up with Caesars Entertainment in New Jersey as a means of entering that pivotal new market.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
