Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, the nation’s leading critic of gambling on the Internet, funded a poll released Wednesday that showed nearly three-quarters of registered voters in Pennsylvania oppose online gambling. Shocking results?
Not to Rep. John Payne, R-Dauphin, author of a bill to legalize online gambling. Poll results done by independent organizations are more legitimate than polls funded by someone like Adelson, the Las Vegas Sands CEO, who has a vested interest in the outcome… “I don’t hold much credibility to the survey because of the way it was done,” Payne said.
The poll, conducted by Brock McCleary, president of Harper Polling, asked voters whether they support the Pennsylvania Lottery, horse racing, “Las Vegas-style” casino-resort gambling, online Keno games in bars and eateries and online gambling. At 84 percent, the lottery had the most support, followed by horse racing (60 percent) and casinos (59 percent). Just 35 percent of the 513 voters surveyed supported Keno. Online gambling came in a distant last — with 21 percent support
