It’s back to her day job for Archon Corp. Secretary-Treasurer Sue Lowden, whose political aspirations experienced an embarrassing meltdown that some would call karmic, redefining “epic fail.” Now she can focus on repairing a corporate image which The Newspaper That Must Not Be Cited rather generously characterized as that of “a successful casino executive.” (C’mon, Sherm, the Santa Fe was never held in high esteem when Mrs. Lowden ran it and the Pioneer Gambling Hall is about as low in the Laughlin pecking order as you can get.)
Perhaps the Lowdens can repay the $350 million they want to borrow for a North Strip stadium with 43,750,000 orders of chicken wings at Sassy Sue’s Saloon. They can also revert to being best known as the people who tore down Wet ‘n Wild, beginning the ghetto-ization of the north end of the Strip.
But will this be the end of the bizarre 11th-hour plot twist in which Mrs. Lowden produced a letter from then-Gaming Commissioner Harry Reid vouching to Illinois regulators for her good character? Did Reid wink at an alleged Mob involvement in a deal that enabled Paul Lowden to acquire two Strip casinos? (This deserves much additional scrutiny.)
Would Mrs. Lowden’s apparent ingratitude and her pooh-poohing of a bombing attempt on Reid — and, by implication, one on a fellow commissioner — cause him to take a special interest in her downfall? As for belatedly citing Reid as a character witness after calling him a liar … well, Reno Mayor Bob Cashell (R) didn’t crown her “Suicidal Sue” for nothing. It’s all very House of Borgia.
Now we come to the part of our program where we form a circle around Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Phil Ruffin, Michael Gaughan and Don Laughlin, point our fingers at them and laugh about the 55 dimes they blew trying to re-elect Gov. Jim Gibbons. Wynn’s dealers were foolish, too, to put any hope on the idea that Midnight Jim would intervene on their behalf: “George” donations from tip-confiscators Wynn and Laughlin tell you in whose pocket Midnight Jim was.
On most other issues, one could never be quite sure if Gibbons actually liked the casino industry or not. He took its money but it was always the first revenue teat he squeezed when he had to eke out a few more tax dollars for the budget. Other times, Midnight Jim cowered in fear of Big Gaming but made a point of saying early on that casino regulation needed more of a “law enforcement” presence. (Actually, it needed more of a financial-analysis perspective and we’re suffering the consequences of its not having one.)
In due fairness, all Nevada-based gaming moguls save Adelson will face “buyers remorse” and diminished clout if their heavy wager on Sen. Reid craps out in November. MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren would be doubly scorched as the industry’s only high-profile backer of Democratic gubernatorial aspirant Rory Reid, currently facing long odds himself. The Perspicacity Award goes to Boyd Gaming for putting its chips on Republican nominee Brian Sandoval, whose name Adelson, Wynn, Ruffin, Gaughan and Laughlin can start practice-writing in their checkbooks now. “S-a-n-d-…”
The Adelson Curse held firm, with both Gibbons and Lowden succumbing to the Las Vegas Sands boss’ deadly embrace. ‘Nuff said.
It’s back to chasing bad markers for Assistant District Attorney Bernie Zadrowski, the casino debt collector whose bid for justice of the peace was returned, stamped “Insufficient Votes.”
Besides, how can you expect to get elected when you go around looking like Dr. Evil or maybe Donald Pleasance as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice?
If Adelson lost twice over, he was outdone by R-J Editor Thomas Mitchell, a three-time loser. The Stetson-wearing editor turned his news pages into a propaganda organ for Lowden. No sale. (Crosstown rival and Sun Publisher Brian Greenspun, of whose coverage of Harry Reid similar things could be said, may be facing a similar comeuppance in November.)
His editorial board also spent four solid years making sweet love to Midnight Jim — 24/7/365. Then, in the waning days of the campaign, with inevitability staring them in the face, the R-J brain trust flim-flammed an excuse for switching its allegiance to Sandoval, a transparent and pathetic attempt to come out on the winning side.
Third, and perhaps most satisfying, Mitchell was well and truly skunked by the blogosphere on a political gaffe that helped sink would-be state senator Kathy McClain. She suffered a 14-point loss caused, in part, by her campaign’s use of anti-gay innuendo. S&G broke the story, Steve Friess picked up on it relentlessly and eventually the drowsy R-J awoke and put its overworked political reporter on the case. The blogosphere, which agonizes Mitchell like an unlanced boil on his backside and sends him into splenetic online rages, totally pwned him here. Time to replace that lid with a Golden Sombrero, cowpoke.
It’s a shame Wet ‘n Wild was closed back in 2004 so the Lowdens could sell the land to Christopher Milam (who never built anything, but tried like so many other developers who announced projects and……did nothing). Most of these developers back in 2004 were land flippers anyway so after they announced their project, they sold their land 12-18 months later and hit the road with millions and millions of dollars in their pocket.
That being said it sucks for Las Vegans not to have a place similar to Wet ‘n Wild around that area (obviously not on the Strip because the land is way to valuable to build a water park). Hopefully someone will do that soon somewhere in that general vicinity.
term limits were good enough for george washington but not harry reid.this is not as good but its close-dont vote for the morons(yes, sue we are looking at you)and vote out the career politicians.limit the lobbyists.