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Donald Trump Turns to Fellow Casino Billionaire Steve Wynn for Campaign Advice

No stranger to the political scene, Las Vegas billionaire Steve Wynn is reportedly advising Donald Trump on how to run his 2016 presidential campaign. (Image: EPA/Alex Hofford)

Donald Trump hasn’t always been a politician, nor has he always been a friend of Steve Wynn, but that isn’t stopping the 2016 GOP frontrunner from seeking out advice from his fellow casino billionaire on running his presidential campaign.

This week the Fox Business Network revealed the two businessmen are actively working together to promote Trump’s cause: winning the Republican Party nomination and ultimately the White House.

Though it’s well known that Trump and Wynn have had their differences in the past and used nasty language to describe one another, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said, “They have been friends for 30 years and they have always had a great relationship.”

In mid-August, Trump fired political advisor Roger Stone, though Stone claimed he had quit.

“We have a tremendously successful campaign and Roger wanted to use the campaign for his own personal publicity,” Trump’s committee said in a statement. “He has had a number of articles about him recently and Mr. Trump wants to keep the focus of the campaign on how to Make America Great Again.”

Instead of looking to a political advisor with experience running campaigns, Trump has continued his unconventional ways by turning to a businessman who has never ran for or held political office, though Wynn is of course no stranger to national politics.

And to advise someone as outspoken and set in his or her ways as Trump, it takes another person who’s equally tenacious and unshakable, and that’s precisely what he’s getting in Steve Wynn.

Poker Impact

For those hoping The Donald might be the right candidate to promote and expand Internet poker, it should be noted that Wynn has largely been anti-iGaming over the years and has even aligned with Sheldon Adelson, the casino tycoon who’s pushing for a ban on online gambling.

Though in 2011 Wynn seemed to hint he was in favor of changing Internet regulations as it relates to iPoker, he changed his tune this year.

Where Adelson’s apprehensions for Internet gambling are allegedly based on societal and moral grounds, Wynn’s are economical.

“I believe Internet gaming is not going to happen in any way… We’ll get blamed if anything goes wrong,” Wynn said in May. Meanwhile, Trump supports online poker legislation, telling Forbes in 2011 “this has to happen” and that the United States is missing out on revenues Internet gambling could provide. 

However, since Wynn isn’t likely chatting with Trump about Internet gambling, the Republican poll leader is presumably still in favor of ending online card game prohibition on the federal level.

Trump Signs Pledge

Wynn probably isn’t going to convince Trump to join he and Adelson’s crusade on online poker, but it seems he did persuade him to sign the Republican National Committee’s “loyalty pledge” that says he won’t run as a third-party candidate should he end up not winning the GOP ticket.

“I’m aware that he suggested to Mr. Trump that a third-party run would be unwise,” Michael Weaver, Wynn’s spokesperson told Fox Business.

While he’s now “loyal” to not running third party, conservatives must determine whether Trump will remain loyal to conservative principals should he become the next president of the United States.