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--- Begin Message ---McCain forged close ties to Las Vegas, tribal casinos Senator grew to champion the industry Senator John McCain greeted supporters at a rally after his debate Friday night with Senator Barack Obama at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. (Gerald Herbert/ Associated Press) By Jo Becker and Don van Natta Jr. New York Times News Service / September 28, 2008 * _Email_ (javascript:openWindow('http://tools.boston.com/pass-it-on?story_url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/28/mccain_forged_clo se_ties_to_las_vegas_tribal_casinos','mailit','scrollbars,resizable,width=770, height=450');) | * _Print_ (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/28/mccain_forged_close_ties_to_las_vegas_tribal_casinos?mode=PF) | * _Single Page_ (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/28/mccain_forged_close_ties_to_las_vegas_tribal_casinos/#) | * _Yahoo! Buzz_ (http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/bostoncom751/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boston.com%2Fnews%2Fnation%2Farticles%2F2008%2F09%2F28%2Fmccain_forged_c lose_ties_to_las_vegas_tribal_casinos%2F) | * _ShareThis_ (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/28/mccain_forged_close_ties_to_las_vegas_tribal_casinos/#) Text size – + NEW YORK - Senator John McCain was on a roll. In a room reserved for high-stakes gamblers at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, he tossed $100 chips around a hot craps table. When the marathon session ended about 2:30 a.m., the Arizona senator and his entourage emerged with thousands of dollars in winnings. (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/28/mccain_forged_close_ties_to_las_vegas_tribal_casinos/#commentAnchor) Discuss _COMMENTS (4)_ (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/28/mccain_forged_close_ties _to_las_vegas_tribal_casinos/#commentAnchor) MORE POLITICAL COVERAGE * _In key county, few signs that debate changed minds_ (http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/09/28/in_key_county_few_signs_that_deb ate_changed_minds) * _Obama: McCain slighted middle class_ (http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/09/28/obama_mccain_slighted_middle_class) * _Notebook: Two polls give Obama edge in first debate_ (http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/09/28/two_polls_give_obama_edge_in_fi rst_presidential_debate) * _McCain forged close ties to Las Vegas, tribal casinos_ (http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/09/28/mccain_forged_close_ties_to_l as_vegas_tribal_casinos) * _Home: where the vote is_ (http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/09/28/home_where_the_vote_is) * _Joan Vennochi: Drawing the presidential battle lines_ (http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/09/28/drawing_the_presidential_battl e_lines) * _More Campaign '08 coverage_ (http://www.boston.com/news/politics/) A lifelong gambler, McCain takes risks, both on and off the craps table. He was throwing dice that night not long after his failed 2000 presidential bid, in which he was skewered by the Republican Party's evangelical base, opponents of gambling. McCain was betting at a casino he oversaw as a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and he was doing so with the lobbyist who represents that casino, according to three associates of McCain. The visit had been arranged by the lobbyist, Scott Reed, who works for the Mashantucket Pequots, a tribe that has contributed heavily to McCain's campaigns and built Foxwoods into the world's second-largest casino. Joining them was Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager. Their night of good fortune epitomized not just McCain's affection for gambling, but also the close relationship he has built with the gambling industry and its lobbyists during his 25-year career in Congress. As a two-time chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, McCain has done more than any other member of Congress to shape the laws governing America's casinos, helping to transform the once-sleepy Indian gambling business into a $26-billion-a-year behemoth with 423 casinos across the country. He has won praise as a champion of economic development and self-governance on reservations. "One of the founding fathers of Indian gaming" is what Steven Light, a University of North Dakota professor specializing in Indian gambling, called McCain. As factions of the ferociously competitive gambling industry have vied for an edge, they have found it advantageous to cultivate a relationship with McCain or hire someone who has one, according to an examination based on more than 70 interviews and thousands of pages of documents. McCain portrays himself as a Washington maverick unswayed by special interests, referring recently to lobbyists as "birds of prey." Yet in his current campaign, more than 40 fund-raisers and top advisers have lobbied or worked for an array of gambling interests - including tribal and Las Vegas casinos, lottery companies, and online poker purveyors. When rules being considered by Congress threatened a California tribe's planned casino in 2005, McCain helped spare the tribe. Its lobbyist, who had no prior experience in the gambling industry, had a nearly 20-year friendship with McCain. In Connecticut that year, when a tribe was looking to open the state's third casino, staff members on the Indian Affairs Committee provided guidance to lobbyists representing those fighting the casino, e-mail messages and interviews show. The proposed casino, which would have cut into the Pequots' market share, was opposed by McCain's colleagues in Connecticut. ____________________________________ New MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination. 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