About-face in Florida; Fear and litigation in Las Vegas

While it’s a little early for S&G to be making political endorsements in 2018, we’ve had a change of heart regarding Voters in Charge, a constitutional amendment that would strip the Florida Legislature of its power to control gambling expansion in the Sunshine State and — at least in the hopes of political bedfellows Disney and the Seminole Tribe — put a de facto end to casino growth. Yes, the Florida Lege has been exceptionally incompetent on gaming issues, fumbling them away in session after session. But unless Florida is to have a crazy quilt of gambling laws, the status quo in Tallahassee should be preserved, After all, nobody ever said that lawmaking was pretty. (Quite the opposite.) In the meantime, Disney and the Seminoles are piling $10 million a month into Voters in Charge. Cumulatively, the spending has exceeded $36 million, which tells you how much Voters in Charge is worth to the strange bedfellows.

Non-Seminole casinos, meanwhile, are chipping into Vote NO on 3 and Citizens for the Truth About Amendment 3. Their argument is that Amendment 3 will stifle economic and job growth. We think they’ve got a valid point and urge our Florida readers (if any) to vote ‘no’ on Amendment 3 when Election Day rolls around.

* Donald Trump‘s pre-presidential years are back in the news. And not in a good way. For instance, the shady Fred Trump purchase of $3.5 million in Trump’s Castle chips when that casino was under financial siege receives renewed scrutiny.

* An alleged gang rape that supposedly took place at Wynncore was “completely fabricated,” according to lawyers for the four California defendants under accusation. The matter was disposed of in 30 seconds, as Clark County prosecutors dropped the charges. Brothers Poria Edalat, Saman Edalat and Sina Edalat said, among other things, “We are so grateful to the justice system for recognizing that we were the victims in this case.” I guess their patients can now go under the ether without fear.

But, as one rape case subsides, another flares up. Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has been accused by Kathryn Mayorga of raping her at Palms Place nine years ago, giving a graphic account to Der Spiegel. She is suing Ronaldo for, among other things, battery, abuse of a vulnerable person and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Mayorga had signed a confidential settlement with Ronaldo but is going public now after Football Leaks published the details of the settlement in 2017, even though it means potentially forfeiting a $375,000 settlement. According to Mayorga, Las Vegas Metro and medical personnel tried to discourage her from pursuing her accusations at the time they allegedly occurred. Obviously, Ronaldo is innocent until proven guilty. But Mayorga has a lot of huevos to go up against someone so popular and powerful. But, based on a Sports Illustrated analysis, she faces an uphill legal battle.

As for Metro (which leaked information on the case to Mayorga’s “personal reputation protection specialists”) it is finally getting off its duff and investigating the he-said/she-said, for which the taxpayers should be thankful. Ronaldo’s lawyers, who seem to be a hyper-vigilant bunch, should also be well aware of the following. As Der Spiegel reports, “The Nevada criminal code includes the following statute: If a sexual assault has been documented in time by the police, it will never fall under the statute of limitations.”