The day after

This morning’s biggest winners are not politicians or pundits (certainly not the pollsters) but the punters who laid their money on a Donald Trump victory when sites like Betfair had him as a one-in-five underdog or worse. Their wallets are fatter today, while bookies are softly cursing the polling industry for its “Dewey Defeats Truman” misfire. And, as a side bet, who would have expected the popular vote and the Electoral College to go separate ways for the second time in 16 years? (That, at least, was the situation as of 10:50 p.m., when major newspapers seem to have stopped tracking the raw vote count.) As for What It Means, that is above my pay grade. I will leave it to a far wiser head, that of the star of Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions, which played Las Vegas last summer. Asked “What is Brexit?”, “Twain” replied, “Wait four months. You’ll understand.” (In fact, the Trump forces used the same social media tools the pro-Brexit campaign did.)

* Sheldon Adelson absorbed a number of swift kicks in the posterior, having spent several million dollars per state to defeat several pro-marijuana measures, whether recreational (California) or medicinal (Florida). Even Adelson’s home state of Massachusetts turned him a deaf ear. He could only take consolation in defeat of an Arizona initiative, while Maine is too close to call. Dr. Miriam Adelson is in the drug-treatment business and United for Care‘s Ben Pollara said it’s a racket: “Certainly the kind of folks with an incentive to oppose this kind of stuff are in the rehab-industrial complex, because marijuana prohibition feeds a lot of clientele into those businesses.” “Pro-marijuana folks have awoken a sleeping giant in Sheldon and Marian Adelson,” bragged Las Vegas Sands lobbyist Andy Abboud. No, just a drowsing pigmy. But don’t expect Nevada casinos to start opening pot lounges alongside their hookah bars anytime soon: Both gaming leaders and regulators defer to the federal ban on loco weed.

In case you’re wondering, Adelson welshed on his commitment to spend $100 million in support of Trump, coming up $95 million short. Pot seems to have been a higher priority for him than presidential politics.

* “Today’s vote is an important step for Atlantic City‘s return to becoming a world-class resort,” said Resorts Atlantic City owner Morris Bailey, perhaps a bit carried away by last night’s election result. His euphoria is understandable: Mayor Don Guardian (R) had called for an “absolutely crushing mandate” against casino expansion into northern New Jersey and he got it: 79% opposed. Such a lopsided margin of defeat makes it unlikely that the movement will return anytime soon. Already, Meadowlands Racetrack owner Jeff Gural is talking about coming back in 2022, not 2018. Gov. Chris Christie‘s support was rendered toxic by Bridgegate and Democratic leaders Stephen Sweeney, Ralph Caputo and Raymond Lesniak all blew valuable political capital on a losing cause and are unlikely to want to repeat the experience. Instead, lawmakers are already talking about a workaround whereby Gural and Monmouth Park get VLTs. However, one Philadelphia TV station calls the move “legally questionable” and you can expect to see casinos rally against it. Bottom line: For all its setbacks, Atlantic City still carries considerable clout.

* Rhode Island voters approved moving the Newport Grand slot parlor’s license to Tiverton, by a two-to-one margin. However, Tiverton proper has to assent and, with mail-in ballots still being counted, it’s a squeaker. If passed, the initiative would put a casino within 400 feet of the Massachusetts border.

* Speaking of Massachusetts, voters there shot down Eugene McCain‘s proposed Revere slots parlor. The mystery shrouding McCain, the sweetheart wording of the ballot question and the opposition of Revere citizenry were believed to have been contributory factors. Chalk up a “win” for Wynn Resorts, which came in during the ninth inning of the campaign to nail down a victory for the status quo.

* Big Gaming’s new BFF on Capitol Hill will be Catherine Cortez Masto (D), who came from behind in the polls to capture Sen. Harry Reid‘s open seat. It will be long time, though, before Cortez Masto accrues Old Sixty Votes’ considerable juice. It’s the end of an era.