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Raiders could play in Vegas, but not forever
Viva la Raiders?
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported today (April 8) that the Oakland Raiders could play pre-season games and maybe a regular-season game in Vegas if a deal is finalized for a new domed stadium near the Strip. The games would be played in Sam Boyd Stadium, which only seats 35,500, and would not be a permanent home for the Raiders, who haven't been able to swing a fat subsidy from Oakland.
Sheldon Adelson
The paper quoted "multiple sources." There is a problem, though. The Review-Journal is owned by the family of multibillionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who is trying to squeeze $780 million from taxpayers for a large, pro-style stadium.
Adelson "has previously thought nothing of arm-twisting his newspaper employees to write what he wanted about his personal business dealings," says Neil deMause of the fieldofschemes.com website.
Mark Fabiani
According to Forbes magazine, Adelson is worth $27.5 billion, which raises questions about how urgently he needs to beg taxpayers for a subsidy.
Late last year, Adelson's publicist became San Diego's Mark Fabiani, who also generates fanfare for the Chargers. I sent an email to Fabiani about the credibility of the Review-Journal report but have not heard anything.
Some National Football League owners are said to oppose having a team in Vegas because they reportedly want to keep the game distant from gambling. This is a joke, because the National Football League was launched by organized-crime-connected gamblers, and the league's close connection to gambling continues to this day.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Raiders could play in Vegas, but not forever
Viva la Raiders?
Raiders could play in Vegas, but not forever
Viva la Raiders?
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported today (April 8) that the Oakland Raiders could play pre-season games and maybe a regular-season game in Vegas if a deal is finalized for a new domed stadium near the Strip. The games would be played in Sam Boyd Stadium, which only seats 35,500, and would not be a permanent home for the Raiders, who haven't been able to swing a fat subsidy from Oakland.
Sheldon Adelson
The paper quoted "multiple sources." There is a problem, though. The Review-Journal is owned by the family of multibillionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who is trying to squeeze $780 million from taxpayers for a large, pro-style stadium.
Adelson "has previously thought nothing of arm-twisting his newspaper employees to write what he wanted about his personal business dealings," says Neil deMause of the fieldofschemes.com website.
Mark Fabiani
According to Forbes magazine, Adelson is worth $27.5 billion, which raises questions about how urgently he needs to beg taxpayers for a subsidy.
Late last year, Adelson's publicist became San Diego's Mark Fabiani, who also generates fanfare for the Chargers. I sent an email to Fabiani about the credibility of the Review-Journal report but have not heard anything.
Some National Football League owners are said to oppose having a team in Vegas because they reportedly want to keep the game distant from gambling. This is a joke, because the National Football League was launched by organized-crime-connected gamblers, and the league's close connection to gambling continues to this day.
Comments
Las Vegas is a weird city that just cannot be compared to other urban areas. It has no real "industry" except for vice. Jobs, jobs, and more jobs galore, but most don't pay well, which leaves the place with a giant underclass of folks just "making it." This is a city that thinks it can afford/support a NFL team? It is almost as foolish to talk of LV having an NFL franchise as it is to talk of San Diego having one. Uhh, SD has one, doesn't it? And can't keep it happy. And is expected to build a new stadium for it. Sigh.
Visduh: You are correct that Vegas is made up of a lot of people receiving low incomes, except casino executives and stockholders and high-priced hookers. But inside the stadium, the NFL is no longer an entertainment for the middle class or the lower class -- except that they watch on television.
The NFL now appeals to big money that can buy luxury suites in stadiums, expensive personal seat licenses, and the like. There are many more of these in Vegas than there are in San Diego. Best, Don Bauder
They would have to make a few improvements in Sam Boyd Stadium before an NFL game could be held there. The Q is a palace compared to that place.
aardvark: Of course, the Raiders could use some improvement on the field, too. I doubt that the Raiders will ever play in that stadium. This appears to be a bargaining ploy -- Adelson using the family newspaper for Machiavellian purposes.
San Diegans should not be judgmental. Look at the U-T's wide-open bias in the ballpark negotiations, and its obvious bias in the Chargers coverage today. Best, Don Bauder
I'm surprised Adelson hasn't used some of his billions to build a mega-stadium in Vegas. It would have to be enclosed and air conditioned most of the year, but if they can build an indoor ski slope in the desert of Dubai, I don't see why Vegas can't have an NFL style stadium. Fans would come from all over the country to see the games, and I'm sure the players wouldn't mind. Everyone loves having an excuse to go to Vegas. You should suggest it to him, Don.
Javajoe25: What????!!! A multi-billionaire using his own money to build a stadium????!!! The NFL would never permit it. Best, Don Bauder
Aldelson should just write a check for a billion and build his own stadium. Corporate Welfare is way out of hand. What happened to President Obama's proposal to ban public funding of Stadiums nationwide?!
The NFL trying to keep a team out of Las Vegas and claim the NFL wants to keep gambling separate from the NFL is the joke of the century. And, the joke is on the American people.
The NFL was founded and is still run by many gamblers including the De Bartolo Family. The 49ers Eddie Jr's Sister Denise DeBartolo York took over the team after Eddie Jr was allegedly, caught involved with bags full of cash and working covertly with the Governor of Louisiana trying to bag a few Riverboat gambling licenses. I guess Eddie Jr. was not so good about staying away from gambling. If the NFL was serious about keeping gambling out then it would have made Eddie Jr. sell the team to a non family member that was sqeaky clean from gambling interests.
Incidentally, the DeBartolo Family (Eddie Sr. was the owner of many Casinos and heavily involved in gambling) was allowed by the NFL to purchase and hold onto the 49ers despited obvious, easy to verify gambling ties.
The 49ers were allegedly purchased with the fruits of the gambling empire of the father, Eddie De Bartolo Sr. The NFL, for appearances, made Eddie Sr. put the team in the name of his son Eddie De Bartolo Jr. It really didn't fool anyone who could do a minimal amount of research.
Any forensic accountant probably could have traced the source of funds to buy the 49ers to Eddie Sr's Casino and gambling proceeds. So, if Mark Davis and Aldelson want a team in Las Vegas, I don't see how the NFL can stop them...especially in light of all the online betting, sports books, the 49ers history and other NFL teams/Owners with alleged gambling ties.
SportsFan0000: The DeBartolo story is just one of many involving the gambling industry and National Football League team owners. I have written many stories on this gambling/NFL/mob coziness and they are on the Reader website. Best, Don Bauder
will this be like the plan here, only it would be mafia trying to get money from the mafia not the tax payers ?
Murphyjunk: The mafia is often trying to get money from the mafia. These encounters are called gang wars. When various mob families took over Vegas casinos beginning in the 1950s/1960s, a hood named Moe Dalitz was appointed peacemaker, trying to keep the families from bumping each other off.
Dalitz was one of the Vegas crew that originally developed Carlsbad's La Costa resort and spa. Dalitz's daughter resided in Rancho Santa Fe at one time. I don't know if she still does. I have never been able to reach her by phone. Best, Don Bauder
I never liked Las Vegas. I went to many COMDEX and CES shows in my entrepreneur years, Apple Computer dealer in the early 1980's. I could sometimes find a free parking spot in the convention center parking lot.
Anyway, I hate Lost Wages. It's sleazy. When I was there I ate room-service burgers. I don't like gambling. Seems so fake.
I guess Las Vegas is like a big Hollywood studio these.
I can't stand the place. Everything about it is overdone and phony. Last summer we were more-or-less forced to stay there one night on an overland trip, and the traffic, crowds, and prices were appalling. And that's in the city that used to be a cheap tourist destination. Yech!
Visduh: I agree 1000 percent. Best, Don Bauder
Ponzi: Every time we are forced to drive through Vegas on the way east, I refuse to stay in any hotel or motel that is inside the city. When we get almost to the Utah border, we usually have to relieve ourselves. For that purpose, we walk through a casino. I try not to look around as I go to the men's room, but the cigarette smoke is pervasive. It is depressing to see all those older people, cigarettes dangling from the sides of their mouths, tossing one coin after another into the machines. That's where Social Security payments are going.
On the other hand, we go to opera in Central City, Colorado, an old mining town that has several old casinos. Because of the historical interest of the more-than-century-old buildings, I sometimes walk through the casinos to look at the architecture. Best, Don Bauder
Never been a fan of Vegas. It is so plastic and phony. Have passed through there a few times on my way to a few National Parks and other interesting places. When passing through there once, I hated to see all the buses full of retirees shipped in to lose all their money and go home broke. The system is completely rigged against the players. They should change the moniker on their State License plates to "The Sucker Bait State"..
SportsFan0000: How about this: "We Screw You in More Ways than One." Best, Don Bauder
Vegas exists in in its current form solely because of the Glen Canyon Dam and the Hoover Dam. There is not logical reason why a city of its size should exist there. The waster of water and energy (for AC) boggles the mind. I have been a few times, but not to gamble. We get a cheap room and use it as a base to visit Red Rocks, Valley Fire State Park, Hoover Dam, etc. There is no place like it, and that is a good thing.
qpodad: It is interesting to see old pictures of Vegas. There are prostitutes sitting there, servicing the Hoover Dam workers. The town was tiny. Then Bugsy Siegel built a fancy casino in Vegas, at that time just a stop in a desert. The casino did poorly and Bugsy got bumped off by his fellow gangsters who had invested in the casino. But that got the ball rolling. Vegas is propelled by gambling and lightweight entertainment. Prostitution is still a huge industry, but the quality and the prices have risen, I understand. Best, Don Bauder