Trump Campaign Hires LVS VP’s Nephew Michael Abboud

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Saturday, July 16th, 2016 | Written by Shane Larson

Donald Trump has been refining his team as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee moves closer and closer to the November elections. As a part of the latest shakeup in the Trump campaign staff, Donald Trump has named Andy Abboud as his new communications coordinator.

For those familiar with the world of gambling, the name is easily recognizable, as prior to moving to his new position with Trump, Abboud served as the Vice President of Government Relations for Las Vegas Sands. He is one of the right-hand men of Sheldon Adelson, the notorious billionaire CEO of Las Vegas Sands who is also Abboud’s uncle.

What’s Behind the Move?

With his experience in government relations and making statements on behalf of Las Vegas Sands, Andy Abboud has both the political connections and the skills necessary to succeed in his new post with the Trump campaign, but there is also speculation that the 26-year-old received the job based on more than just his credentials.

Sheldon Adelson has contributed $100 million to the Trump campaign. While this is nothing new for the staunch GOP supporter, Adelson seems to be heavily invested in Trump more than other candidates during this election cycle. As Adelson announced recently:

“I am endorsing Trump’s bid for president and strongly encourage my fellow Republicans — especially our Republican elected officials, party loyalists and operatives, and those who provide important financial backing — to do the same.”

While there has been no concrete evidence to support the rumor surrounding Abboud’s appointment, many people are speculating that Adelson used his influence to get his nephew the job with the Trump Campaign, or that Donald Trump chose Abboud as a favor to Adelson.

What Could This Mean for iGaming?

As an owner of casinos, Donald Trump has long been viewed as a candidate who would likely be in favor of legalizing and regulating more forms of gaming across the country. Such beliefs stem back to at least 2011, when Trump announced his support for online gambling, stating at the time during an interview with Forbes that “it has to happen because many other countries are doing it and like usual the US is just missing out.”

In recent times, however, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee has not made any further type of statements regarding what his policies and beliefs about gambling actually are.

Now that Trump has named Andy Abboud to his campaign and further aligned himself with Sheldon Adelson, many people are rethinking the notion that Trump will be likely to support online poker and other forms of iGaming. After all, Sheldon Adelson has been one of the most outspoken opponents of online gambling, saying publicly on many occasions that he believes online operators to be incapable of preventing minors from accessing games and from stopping money laundering, despite the fact that his own casinos have had to pay heavy fines for those very things.

In the past, Sheldon Adelson hasn’t held back on using his influence to try and make it difficult for online poker and casino operators to legally be licensed in the United States. He is known to have been a driving force in the push for the Restoration of America’s Wire Act or RAWA, a piece of legislation that seeks to ban online gambling.

If Trump should win the election, there is now a worry that Sheldon Adelson will use his influence to further his anti-online gaming agenda, which at its heart seems to be motivated by a desire to reduce competition for his brick and mortar casino empire.

Would Hillary Clinton Be Any Better?

Meanwhile, the USA’s other Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, may have voted in favor of the UIGEA back in 2006, but by 2008 during her first US presidency bid she appeared to have adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards online gambling. Clinton even lent her support to the efforts of Nevada legislator Shelley Berkley, who proposed studying online gambling in order to determine whether the industry could be regulated to provide a safe environment for customer, as well as provide viable revenues for government coffers.

In February of this year, Clinton was subsequently asked on Nevada Public Radio to clarify her position on the issue of legalized online gambling, to which she replied:

“I have concerns about internet gaming. I think those concerns are being aired and looked at by a number of states as well as the federal government. I think we have to be sure that if we’re doing internet gaming there is some level of regulation and accountability as there is with real world, on the ground gaming here in Las Vegas and elsewhere.”