Is a bailout for Vegas casinos next?

Think Progress
Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Congress and the White House say they are moving closer towards an agreement on a $15 billion rescue plan for the auto industry. On CNBC this morning, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) said he would be inclined to filibuster the auto rescue deal. “I think that not only myself but several of us will be looking at possibly blocking this package,” he said. But when the host asked Ensign whether the government should also rescue Ensign’s home state’s gaming industry, the Nevada senator left the door open:

Q: Las Vegas is quiet. If the gaming industry ever came to you and said we need some sort of assistance…where do we stop in all this?

ENSIGN: That’s exactly right. The gaming industry and the hotel industry are hurting and hurting very very bad. And by the way, the hotel industry across the United States, not just in Las Vegas, employs a lot more people than the auto industry does. … And we don’t hear people saying let’s bail out the tourism industry, and it’s hurting.

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