Land casino mogul slammed in Youtube expose

Providing interesting viewing on Youtube this weekend is a 10-minute trailer promoting an expose on arch anti-online gambling campaigner and billionaire land casino owner, Sheldon Adelson and his Las Vegas Sands group.

The title of the expose suggests it is the first of several episodes, with the first airing – presumably on The Tim James.com Youtube channel – next Wednesday (August 19).

Not much is known about Tim James, but he certainly adopts a confrontational style in accusing Adelson of hypocrisy in his vendetta against online gambling, and backs up his allegations with video footage showing how easy it is for an underaged person to not only enter one of Adelson’s casinos, but also to gamble, drink, cash in and walk out – all without interference.

By contrast, one of those underaged persons, using the same fake ID, then tries to enter the WSOP.com online gambling site but cannot get past the registration page, suggesting that online underage exclusions are more effective than those deployed in Adelson’s operations, and debunking one of the billionaire’s favourite claims that land casinos are better controlled.

Rubbing salt into an already raw wound, Tim James then visits an Adelson casino, picks up a prostitute and interviews her about how much action she generates in the casino, implying that the floor staff know full well what is going on but turn a blind eye.

The reporters also points out that Adelson’s company has its own “pocket casino” too, which can be used for on-premises gambling and sports betting.

It can only be imagined what further shortcomings James will uncover in the full episode.

Whether James is a bona fide investigative reporter or an agent provocateur has not yet been established in our admittedly basic research into the man, but the video footage he has screened appears to back up his accusations and will likely prove embarrassing for the casino owner – particularly if the regulator looks into it.

Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands land casino group has paid fines in the past for several violations of underage gambling regulations, and the expose will probably attract the attention of management – it had already recorded over 4,000 hits just hours after going up on Youtube and is being discussed in the forums.

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