Posted on 07/29/2003 9:32:08 AM PDT by 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.
HUH?
Did Bill not list homosexuality as a vice either?
HUH?
Is this the tip of the iceberg of all Bill's vices not so enumerated by him?
HUH?
I don't get your questions. My gripe are the hypocrites harping on and on about poor Bill Bennet's Privacy being violated. For the last couple of weeks, all I've heard about is there is no such thing as Privacy, therefore he has no grounds to sue anyone. I personally believe there are Privacy Right's, but as usual, it depends on who's Ox is being gored. Blackbird.
NOW THAT IS FUNNY~
Though, actually, he has a VERY good case, under respondeat superior, where the master is responsible for the actions of his servent(s). And he doesn't have to prove WHICH casino, either. THEY have the burden of showing that if each is likely to have leaked the document.
Guess what. Not only lost income from fewer speaking engagements. We're talking punatives.
I think it was a rotten thing for these folks to make records of his gambling so public. On the other hand, he may someday be grateful to them for it because it seems to have been an important factor in his seeking help. ;-)
But, I guess you are a conservative who is enraged when liberals tell us that no one needs that much money?
Bill Bennet has a right to spend his own money as he pleases and in any amount. If person's gambling is kept a secret, then he should expect his privacy to be respected also.
It's the digital era: the INFORMATION AGE!!!
Many of the "slot" machines don't even take/dispense coins or tokens anymore. Just stick your little plastic credit/debit card into the slot and every button you push or lever you pull is recorded for posterity!
Now there is a "right" to privacy for one's gambling exercises?
This statement bespeaks a disconnection from reality that is more troubling than the gambling addiction itself.
Uhhh, he was gambling in A FREAKIN' CASINO!!!! Not many places more public than that. Its the credit information being released as a means of "smearing" him that is the issue, not the fact that he used his legally-earned money to indulge in a legal pastime that did not affect his family's finances or open him up to blackmail. Words have meanings; look them up in a dictionary if you don't understand them.
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