{"id":2224,"date":"2015-07-29T13:25:59","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T17:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/?p=2224"},"modified":"2015-07-29T13:39:04","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T17:39:04","slug":"a-donald-trump-presidency-will-be-good-for-american-gamblers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/a-donald-trump-presidency-will-be-good-for-american-gamblers\/","title":{"rendered":"A Donald Trump presidency will be good for American gamblers"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Donald Trump<\/strong> announced he planned to run for President of the United States, most people were just laughing at the prospect. After all, how can this egotistical billionaire who is best known for a reality TV show really stand a chance at becoming the leader of the most powerful nation on earth? Those laughs have now turned to concern and in some cases excitement because Trump is now well ahead in the opinion polls to become the next Republican candidate. Sure Trump has made many missteps, but it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to have hurt him. But the question is can Trump actually win? <\/p>\n

\"\"Probably not, but there is no question he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be great for gambling. Aside from the fact that he owns or has owned many casinos, Trump has indicated many times that he supports gambling. In fact Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pro-gambling past has put him at the top of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153vote against list\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by the lobby group Stop Predatory Gambling whose stated aim is to stop people from gambling. Not surprisingly the group is made up predominantly of religious fanatics and those who have been affected by gambling. The group also opposes Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie, which it deems to both be pro-gambling. <\/p>\n

Candidates they support are Jeb Bush and Mark Rubio who they classify as opposed to gambling even though it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t appear Bush ever made a statement on the subject. But I suppose since his brother was responsible for the passage of the UIGEA, the logic is that the anti-gambling philosophy must run in the whole family.<\/p>\n

I decided to send an email to Donald Trump asking for an interview but received no response. I had hoped that Trump may have considered the interview given other candidates (albeit mostly also-rans) have talked with me in the past leading up to the elections but unfortunately that wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the case. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no reason not to post a hypothetical interview. Having interviewed Wayne Allan Root when he ran for President as part of the Libertarian party and having researched Donald Trump quite well I believe the Donald would respond to my questions in a similar manner as the answers below. <\/p>\n

As such, the following is how I believe <\/em>an interview with Donald Trump would go should Trump ever be available. Note the responses in quotes are actual comments from Trump in the past.<\/p>\n

HH<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Thank you for the interview Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n

DT<\/strong> – I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m happy to talk with those beneath me if it benefits me. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know who you are but my staff sent me some of the interviews you conducted in the past with people like Alan Dershowitz so I assume you must be somewhat important in your field and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good enough for me.<\/p>\n

HH<\/strong> – As a writer for a website devoted to gambling manners I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to keep my questions related to that area. You are clearly one of the biggest developers in the U.S. and much of that has been building casinos. From that one can assume you are pro-gambling. Can you tell me how you feel about gambling?<\/p>\n

DT<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Life is a gamble. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everything in life is luck.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said that many times. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s human nature to want to capitalize off that luck and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad Trump has provided Americans the opportunity to do so. The true success stories, the people who have succeeded the most are all gamblers.<\/p>\n

HH <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c Critics of gambling say that for every winner there are a lot of losers and we should be worried about those who have a gambling problem. Are you concerned about those who can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t handle gambling and could lose their livelihood if left to their own vices?<\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I have no sympathy for anyone who can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t handle gambling. I like winners. If they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t winning then that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too bad for them, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not my problem, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the casino\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problem, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problem or the problem of other Americans. As I said before \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that’s more productive.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the same like the booze addict who wants to shut down liquor stores and bars because he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t handle his liquor. Tough for him. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make rules for those who are at the bottom of the barrel, you make it for what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best for the majority of citizens and gambling is good for the majority and of course for myself. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a solution for them \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if you like to gamble and can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t walk away . . . then get better at it.<\/p>\n

HH <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c The Trump Plaza hotel closed last year and the Taj Mahal had to declare bankruptcy in 2014, although it has since been bought by another investor. Many analysts have said that both hotels were victims of the decline in gambling, but also that the casinos were mismanaged and that you never tried to keep them competitive with the new rising casinos in Atlantic City. How do you respond to that?<\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I build the casinos, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t run them but that aside it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the decline in gambling or mismanagement that caused them to run into financial trouble. It was the Chinese.<\/p>\n

HH <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I beg your pardon?<\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c We all know that the Chinese are the biggest gamblers in the world, and the Jews and Italians also but casinos were banking on the Asian population to spend all the millions they bring over here at the casinos and for some reason they haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t done so as much lately. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of my biggest problem with the Chinese. They have all this money but they won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t invest it in the economy and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why we are struggling while they flourish. If they spent in U.S. casinos like they do in places like Hong Kong and Macau then the casinos would be profitable. Personally I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a conspiracy by the Chinese government to try and ruin the casino industry here so they ordered their citizens abroad not to gamble as much in American casinos. <\/p>\n

HH<\/strong>– Umm ok.<\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c And I think I saw a lot more Mexicans at the casinos as well. And Mexicans aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t good for the business because casino patrons see them and they run away because you never know what will happen next with a Mexican.<\/p>\n

HH<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c In 2011 you made it clear that you were all for online gambling. At the time most other casino operators seemed in favor of it as well but as you know Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn now oppose online gambling. In fact Adelson has even convinced Lindsay Graham to support a bill to bring back the Wire Act. What is your opinion on that?<\/p>\n

DT<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hypocrites and traitors. They make money off gambling but they want to keep it offline because they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want competitors to they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re casinos in Vegas or Macau. Who the hell do they think they are? Let me tell you something competition is good. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a good businessman like me then you will make money because you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be better than the competition. Are their technology people so inept they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t build a casino website to compete with the great ones? Tough. And they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re traitors because unlike myself who put money into employing people in Atlantic City and at all my great Trump hotels in the United States they went to Macau and threw their money in over there. And Adelson even threw money into Singapore. If he likes it so much in Asia why doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he move there where they can kiss his old ass every day? And Steve Wynn was for online gambling but now he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s against it? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like people who change their minds. It shows they are weak. He was right to support online gambling and now he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s running because he knows he could never compete online with the great Trump-Taj-Mahal online gambling website.<\/p>\n

HH<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the Trump Taj Mahal website in New Jersey close because it couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t compete with the likes of Borgata and Harrah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s?<\/p>\n

DT<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Are you some kind of wise guy? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know anything about that but of course I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have anything to do with the online casinos. But if a website with the great name Trump can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it then I guarantee you the Wynn and Sands casinos would have done worse. Maybe that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why they oppose it but it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t change the fact that they shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be afraid to try and fail.<\/p>\n

HH <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c One last question Mr. Trump. Sports betting seems to be the topic du jour. The leagues have opposed sports betting for decades but the NBA now supports it and other leagues are becoming more neutral. PASPA, a 1992 law forbids sports betting in all but 4 states but some states like New Jersey want that overturned. And now with daily fantasy sports occurring legally in the U.S. every day most people will agree that legal sports betting is already here. What is your stance on sports betting?<\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I like sports. I like gambling. The two obviously go hand in hand. And like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said before \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d If everyone adopted that philosophy we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d all be better off. I like Adam Silver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new stance on sports gambling. He realizes there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of money to be made for everyone including the leagues and players and as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said before \u00e2\u20ac\u0153if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to be thinking anyways, then think big.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And sports betting can be big. We also need it in New York and New Jersey to help our horse racing tracks and casinos.<\/p>\n

HH <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c What about those who would say that sports gambling leads to corruption and game fixing?<\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a cheat, then you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a cheat. Gambling won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make a difference. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like cheaters or dishonest people and if the leagues can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t control their own players because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re dishonest, then the heads of those leagues need to be thrown out because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re incompetent themselves. <\/p>\n

HH <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c Thank you for the interview. Is there anything you would like to say in closing to readers of OSGA?<\/p>\n

DT <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what the hell OSGA is but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll tell your readers this: As I said before \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don’t make deals for the money. I’ve got enough, much more than I’ll ever need. I do it, to do it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d So if I say I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to legalize online gambling federally, if I say I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to make gambling easier for Americans and if I say I will get sports betting legalized I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll do it. When I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m president no one is going to oppose me because they know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re fired!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d So if you want more gambling in the U.S. then I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m your best choice for president. We will all win!!<\/p>\n

HH <\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u201c Thanks and good luck.<\/p>\n

This satirical, hypothetical interview between Hartley Henderson and Donald Trump is strictly for entertainment purposes. Any Presidential wagering based on this hypothetical interview is not advised.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Donald Trump announced he planned to run for President of the United States, most people were just laughing at the prospect. After all, how can this egotistical billionaire who is best known for a reality TV show really stand a chance at becoming the leader of the most powerful nation on earth? Those laughs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[128,45,43,49,107,52],"class_list":["post-2224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gambling-rumors","tag-election-odds","tag-internet-gambling","tag-online-gambling","tag-president","tag-rumor-mill","tag-us-regulation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2239,"href":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224\/revisions\/2239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.osga.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}