Why has Geoff Freeman become such an outspoken voice in favor of the gaming industry? In part to fill the vacuum soon to be left by retiring Sen. Harry Reid (D). One of the two candidates running to replace him, Rep. Joe Heck (R), has several terms on Capitol Hill but hasn’t emerged as a go-to guy for the industry and Democratic Party rival Catherine Cortez Masto would be a Washington newbie (don’t let the campaign ads fool you). With no disrespect to Freeman — one of our favorite S&G readers — nobody’s got the pull of Old Sixty Votes, even on a bad day. Let’s hope Sen. Dean Heller (R) has been studying the Reid playbook closely, because the role of point man for Big Gaming now falls to him.
As Caesars Entertainment lobbyist Jan Jones Blackhurst put it, “Now we need to learn to be smart and fast on our own. All of us are acutely aware that the strong voice we always had representing the industry in Washington will be diminished.” Putting her frequent-flier miles where her mouth is, Jones is doubling her annual travel to Foggy Bottom. She and her counterparts at other companies will have to try and preserve the kind of loopholes that Reid used to be so good at crafting. According to The Washington Post, “The AGA’s focus is not just to get face time with members of Congress in their home districts, but also to cultivate relationships with local officials and industry leaders. While some of these tactics are not new, Reid’s retirement makes them more pressing.”
Industry lobbying costs — $37 million — were at an all-time high last year but that figure is somewhat deceptive because it includes a massive amount of anti-industry spending by 
Sheldon Adelson, pushing his lame attempt to ban Internet gambling. (Like all Adelson political ventures, it was a colossal flop.) Sheldon may not miss Reid — the two have a non-aggression pact — but big donors Caesars, MGM Resorts International and Station Casinos will. Much of Freeman’s work is, and will include, coalition building, weaving a patchwork quilt of corporate and civic representatives who represent the broad base and geographic penetration of the gaming industry. As Pinnacle Entertainment lobbyist Troy Stremming says, “Now that gaming is in 40 states across the country, support for gaming among members of Congress should reflect our vast footprint we have across the country.”
