Jeb Bush, GOP Hopefuls to Woo Casino Mogul

Jeb Bush and a handful of other GOP presidential hopefuls are heading to Las Vegas later this week to court big bucks—mostly from the pocket of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, the LA Times reports. Bush will be featured speaker at the Republican Jewish Coalition (for donors offering $25,000 or more, Time notes), followed by talks from Govs. Chris Christie, Scott Walker, and John Kasich for lesser donors. All have their eye on billionaire Adelson, who almost single-handedly sustained Newt Gingrich's run for the GOP nomination in 2012 by giving his "super PAC" $10 million.

Adelson later backed Mitt Romney's super PAC, and Romney visited Jerusalem to address US-Israeli ties and the Iranian nuclear threat—two major concerns for Adelson. While new hopefuls court Adelson, other speakers will include Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Derber, and Saturday's keynote speaker, Dick Cheney. One politician who won't attend: Sen. Rand Paul, whose father was the sole 2012 candidate not invited to the RJC forum in 2011. The RJC is a major force behind a Senate bill to slap Iran with new sanctions, but the White House threatened to veto it, saying it could damage negotiation efforts. (More Sheldon Adelson stories.)