Adelson to Double-Down and Keep Betting on the GOP

Maybe he just likes to see politicians grovel.

After spending more than $100 million mostly on losing Republican election campaigns this year, casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson said he planned to stay in the game and double down on his political donations, reports WSJ's Alicia Mundy.

Mundy continues:

Mr. Adelson, who was one of the Republican Party's biggest donors in 2012, will again give heavily to GOP candidates and conservative causes, he said in an interview, especially to state-level, antiunion initiatives.

"I happen to be in a unique business where winning and losing is the basis of the entire business," said Mr. Adelson, who directly backed one winning and eight losing candidates in the November election, including Mitt Romney. "So I don't cry when I lose. There's always a new hand coming up."

Mr. Adelson was approached by five GOP governors, including potential 2016 presidential contenders Bob McDonnell of Virginia and Louisiana's Bobby Jindal during the Republican Governors Association conference last month in Las Vegas. So far, he said, he is noncommittal. The governors' offices declined to comment...

Mr. Adelson's 2012 donations were double what he spent in 2008, and looking ahead, he said, he was ready to again "double" his donations.

"I'll spend that much and more," he said in his first extensive postelection interview. "Let's cut any ambiguity."

Forbes magazine estimates Mr. Adelson's net worth at $21.5 billion. Last week, Sands approved a special dividend that will pay him about $1.2 billion..."We're pro-abortion rights, pro stem-cell research," said Mr. Adelson. He also favors the Dream Act, a law that would allow some illegal immigrants to attain legal status. As for health care, he said, "I'm in favor of a socialized-like health care," similar to the system in Israel.

How long before many "libertarian" politicians begin to see Adelson as a wise man? Remember the phony libertarian Paul Ryan has already made a pilgrimage to Vegas to meet with Sdelson.