拉斯维加斯金沙集团股份有限公司的发言人说，拉斯维加斯金沙集团股份有限公司董事长兼首席执行官谢尔登.德森反对互联网赌博合法化，因为他担心年轻人会通过互联网参与赌博。埃德森在2007年8月28日澳门威尼斯人度假村酒店开幕新闻发布会上也曾如此表示。

　　上周，内华达州的最突出赌场老板—拉斯维加斯金沙集团股份有限公司的谢尔登.埃德森再次表示反对在线扑克合法化。埃德森的态度给在线扑克界带来了一次不小的震惊，但他们更担心的是埃德森的反对态度会对在线扑克的合法化道路产生阻力。

　　也许会在一定程度上产生阻力。埃德森的态度也许有可能扼杀一个在线扑克法案的诞生。

　　今年早些时候，游说立法国会同意互联网赌博合法化已经被不少总统候选人纳入了政治考虑范围。（1月3日艾奥瓦州预选的共和党初选开始。）

　　参议员凯尔是共和党的2号候选人，在与扑克社区的立法者达成了一项协议被参议员里德任命为委员之一。

　　凯尔认为，在线扑克行业的产业税，可成为增加联邦政府收入的发电机。

　　现在，凯尔恳求地表示，他将告诉埃德尔森在线扑克合法化后的美好前景。

　　凯尔从来就是一个在线扑克合法化的支持者。他曾在2006年反对非法互联网赌博执行法案的通过，并在这之后一直以国会议员身份向政府施加压力，要求政府认真考虑互联网赌博的合法化问题。

　　而当埃德尔森亲自来到华盛顿发表他反对在线扑克合法化的意见时，国会议员凯尔和美国博彩协会会长法兰克却保持了沉默。

　　译文：

　　Adelson puts damper on efforts to legalize Internet gambling

　　Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., is against online gambling because he doesn’t believe young people can be prevented from making wagers, a spokesman said Wednesday. Adelson is shown here at a news conference for the opening of the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel on Aug. 28, 2007.

　　The revelation last week that one of Nevada’s most prominent casino owners, Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s Sheldon Adelson, is opposed to legalizing online poker sent a cross-country shock wave through the online poker community. The question asked most often: Will this hurt the chances that Congress will pass a bill?

　　Maybe a little. But what is more likely to kill the prospect of an online poker bill is the lack of a viable online poker bill.

　　Earlier this year, poker lobbyists identified the sweet spot on the congressional calendar for such legislation as anytime before the end of 2011, before all political considerations became entirely subsumed by the presidential election. （The Republican primary season starts with the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3.）

　　But then Sen. Jon Kyl, the Republicans’ No. 2 guy in the U.S. Senate and the pro-poker community’s No. 1 target lawmaker needed to strike a deal, got appointed to Sen. Harry Reid’s debt reduction supercommittee.

　　Then, Kyl shunned the idea of incorporating online poker into the government’s efforts to come up with $1.2 trillion in debt reductions, even though taxes on the new industry are expected to be a revenue-generator for the federal government.

　　Now, Kyl is shunning entreaties to say what he told Adelson about the prospects for legalizing online poker.

　　Kyl has never been a fan of legalizing online poker. He crusaded against it for years before the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed in 2006, and after that, was one of the most outspoken members of Congress pressuring the government to enforce it.

　　Since Adelson came to Washington to deliver his anti-online poker opinion to Kyl and Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, the usual suspects are staying suspiciously silent.