Sheldon Adelson

DENVER – It’s no secret that U.S. Rep. Shelly Berkley (D-Las Vegas) and casino executive Sheldon Adelson aren’t the best if friends.

As the Las Vegas Sun and others have documented, the feud dates back to the 1990s. When Berkley, who once served under Adelson as vice president of Las Vegas Sands Corp., ran for congress in 1998, Adelson released private documents from Berkley’s tenure at the company suggesting that Berkley had encouraged Adelson to provide favors for elected officials.

Then, earlier this year, Freedom’s Watch, an Adelson-sponsored conservative organization, ran robocalls accusing Berkley of opposing troops in Iraq.

Standing outside a breakfast for Nevada delegates today at the Marriott hotel, the five-term congresswoman declined to comment on her feud with Adelson. But she didn’t hesitate to take a shot at Freedom’s Watch, suggesting the organization disclose its donor list.

Republicans are lucky to have Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson's generous funding of the conservative group Freedom's Watch, but he wasn't always in their corner.

Earlier in his career, Adelson contributed over $100,000 to Democrats.

Although he had a history of donating to both Republicans and (mostly) Democrats throughout the `80s and early `90s, the casino mogul's financial support of Democrats ended abruptly after 1997. That year, he gave $2,000 to the Democratic National Committee and $100,000 to the Republican National Committee.

Ever since, he's been a solid supporter for Republicans, having contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican candidates, and millions more to other efforts such as Freedom's Watch.

Las Vegas casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson and his right-leaning advocacy group Freedom's Watch could be key in financing Republican campaigns across the country, according toa story in the Wall Street Journal.

As PolitickerNV.com reported, Freedom's Watch targeted congressional candidate and state Sen. Dina Titus (D-Henderson) earlier this month with a series of robocalls highlighting her lack of action on Nevada's high gas prices. In June, the group aimed at Rep. Shelley Berkley with allegations that she doesn't back U.S. troops.

LAS VEGAS-The Republican National Committee announced new chairs for their 2008 fundraising effort  in an e-mail today.  The Nevada list is short on surprises, except that Steve Wynn, who has generally contributed to candidates from both political parties, is listed as an honorary co-chair.

The list names William Weidner, president and COO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, as chairman with Sig Rogich, president of Rogich Communications Group, as co-chair.