William Bennett considering lawsuits against casinos

The Las Vegas Review-Journal ^ | Tuesday, July 29, 2003 | ROD SMITH

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

Morals czar William Bennett is considering filing lawsuits against Las Vegas casino companies that may have leaked documents detailing his gambling habits.

Bennett, the architect and leading advocate of Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign, was outed in the May issue of The Washington Monthly magazine as a gambler who has wagered -- and lost -- millions over the past decade at Bellagio and Caesars Atlantic City.

During a 60-minute interview with Tim Russert on CNCB this weekend, the former education secretary complained his privacy rights had been "deliberately damaged" while also mocking Las Vegas' latest national marketing campaigns.

"By the way, there's a commercial on that people may have seen about Las Vegas, that 'What happens here stays here.' Well, not in my case. Some people there were trying to do me great harm," Bennett said.

The "What happens here" ad campaign is part of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's latest marketing campaign to boost tourism to the city.

He argued the magazine report stemmed from the release of "some documents" by the casinos themselves which was not legal and violated his privacy rights.

He alleges documents were selectively leaked to create a false impression that he had a gaming problem.

While Bennett did not dispute the legitimacy of the documents and said he had no problem with the reporters who have written stories on his gambling, he told Russert the release of the information was not legal and he is looking into the possibility of legal action against the casinos.

On Monday, Bennett declined to comment further on the possibility of legal action against the casino companies.

Spokesmen for Park Place Entertainment Corp. , owner of the Caesars Atlantic City, and MGM Mirage, which operates Bellagio, declined comment.

Industry insiders have said details in The Washington Monthly article suggest the data about Bennett's gambling habits might actually have come from documents produced by Central Credit, a subsidiary of First Data Corp. of Greenwood Village, Colo.

Central Credit, which has denied being a source of the documents, is the gaming industry equivalent of credit reporting agency TRW. It allows member casinos to run credit checks on debts, marker activity and repayment habits of casino customers.

Industry experts and civil liberties attorneys doubt Bennett has a cause of action.

Las Vegas professor and casino gambling expert Bill Thompson said Bennett's privacy rights "were violated. I think he has a beef, but I don't know if he has a legal argument."

Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel for the Nevada chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said "It might be good policy, but in the absence of some policy or contract, it does not appear there is a cause of action," he said.

[bmwcyle]

As the ad does not say, "What happens here does not stay here."

[lelio]

Industry insiders have said details in The Washington Monthly article suggest the data about Bennett's gambling habits might actually have come from documents produced by Central Credit, a subsidiary of First Data Corp. of Greenwood Village, Colo.

Interesting

[dfwgator]

Hey Bill, how bout taking a little personal responsibility, eh? What a hypocrite.

[Richard Kimball]

Las Vegas professor and casino gambling expert Bill Thompson said Bennett's privacy rights "were violated. I think he has a beef, but I don't know if he has a legal argument."

Well, it may be a crapshoot, but I think he should go ahead and roll the dice and see what happens.

[dfwgator]

Hey Bill, how bout taking a little personal responsibility, eh? What a hypocrite.

[Austin Willard Wright]

Very smart Bill. Keep this issue alive.

[Mr. K]

hell yes!!!!!!!!!!!!

good way to get back his $8 mil too

[habs4ever]

Is this how he intends to recoup his gambling and speaking fees' losses?

[bmwcyle]

He needs could hurt them more by stop playing.

[krb]

Morals czar William Bennett is considering filing lawsuits against Las Vegas casino companies that may have leaked documents detailing his gambling habits.

Phew!...when I read the title I assumed Bennett was going to sue Vegas for his gambling problem!

[leadpenny]

Hey Bill, write another book that tells the rest of us how to live our lives. Your 15 minutes is up.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I think he did take personal responsibility for his gambling habit, didn't he? This is a different issue, it seems to me.

[dennisw]

I would do the same ... and if sucessful donate the $$$ to charities. Perhaps gamblers anonymous.

[lelio]

The "What happens here" ad campaign is part of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's latest marketing campaign to boost tourism to the city.

If Bill wants some more money he should just keep on talking about how his info was leaked. All the casinos will eventually pay him millions to just shutup.

[Bluntpoint]

If he wins the suit he is going to demand to be "compted" for an entire week at a casino of his choice.

[StolarStorm]

He may be a hypocrite but think about the reason for all of this. Some swarmy democrat scumbag wanted to stick it to a conservative. I'd love to see the worm rooted out.

[andy58-in-nh]

I'll bet you 3 to 1 he loses.

[OldFriend]

IMO, he has NO moral argument. Blaming the casino?????

He'd have a case if the whole story was a lie but he had admitted he was there gambling huge sums of money.

I have no problem with him gambling with his own money. He earned it. I have a big probem with him objecting to that fact being made public.

[Bluntpoint]

I'd love to see the worm rooted out.

Next month he will be suing a Reno brothel.