Democrats Caucus at Las Vegas Casinos

Pollsters believe the Strip sites will now go heavily for Obama.

This Saturday, Las Vegas, the town that has seen everything, will see something new. Nine of the major casino-resort complexes which comprise the Strip will host voting areas for Democratic caucusing, and casinos in the area will give employees a break so that they might vote.

The powerful Culinary Workers Union pushed for the unusual arrangement, arguing that assumptions about voter availability on Saturday do not apply to Las Vegas as they do in other areas. Because of the town's 24/7 lifestyle, the union wanted to be sure its members were not de facto disenfranchised.

Nine casinos have been selected as caucus sites. They include the Bellagio, the Luxor, the Mirage, the Rio, Paris, Caesar's Palace, the Flamingo, Wynn, and New York New York.

While any voter who can show proof they work in the area of the Strip is welcome to vote, the reality of Vegas traffic and distances mean that participating employees are far more likely to work at the hosting casinos than elsewhere. This has caused a disturbance in the Democratic Party, as the Culinary Workers Union has come out hard for Barack Obama, and all nine casinos are union hotels.

The union has prepared for months to inform members how to most easily and efficiently reach the sites and exercise their votes. Pollsters believe the Strip sites will now go heavily for Obama.

In response, the teachers' union, the Nevada State Education Association, filed suit on Friday asking that the casino caucuses be shut down, asserting that their existence gives preferential treatment to supporters of one candidate. The suit was given implicit approval by Hillary Clinton's campaign, which seemed to find sour grapes in the process.

Democratic Party officials noted that the Clinton backers, as well as several of the other complaintants, were at meetings last year that set up the casino caucuses, and supported them at the time. One party leader said, "The time for comment or complaint has passed." Culinary union reps noted that the timing seemed strange, with no disagreement voiced from the Clinton camp until after the recent Obama endorsement.

It will be interesting to see how the aftermath of this power struggle plays out in the future goals of the two unions, as the teachers push for increased state taxes of casinos for educational funding, while the culinary workers would prefer that money to remain in casino profits, to be negotiated into future worker compensation packages.