Republican Presidential candidate John McCain has earned over quarter of a million dollars to aid his campaign from gambling related individuals it’s emerged. And that figure is thought to be much higher but missed by those keeping a watchful eye of the source of donations.

The financial backing looks like being money down the drain however as Democrat Senator Barack Obama closes in on victory in the most high profile Presidential election in the history of the United States.

Successive polls name Obama as the firm favourite to win next week’s election.

He too has benefited from the gambling sector in the US in his bid to become the country’s first President with African-American heritage.

It’s estimated that Obama has bagged $133,000 from the industry, again a figure likely to be just a small portion of the true amount.

While Obama looks set to become the new inhabitant of the White House McCain’s ability to get money out of gambling giants has been impressive.

The likes of MGM Mirage’s Terry Lanni is directly responsible for raising $500,000, Steve Wynn $250,000 and Sheldon Adelson some $100,000 – all for McCain. However if the recent polls are correct then it looks as though the men who make a living from losing bets may well have put their money on the wrong man.??It is expected that we will see the amount of money which Obama receives from the industry pick up over the next few days as some players will look to side with the favourite, although political polls in the US are not always as straight forward as you might expect.

However, the big question remains, will the new president actually make a difference to the gambling industry? Both have been sociable gamblers at some stage in their lives and both are believed to secretly want the ban on online gambling lifted as soon as possible. However Democrat Obama would find it easier to move bills doing just that through the system as Democrats also rule both houses of the Senate.

Print version