Las Vegas Casino Tycoon Credited for Gaza Ceasefire, Hostage Release

Posted on: January 15, 2025, 02:07h. 

Last updated on: January 15, 2025, 02:25h.

The 15-month war between Israel and Hamas-led Palestine could soon end after negotiations between allies United States, Qatar, and Egypt managed to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas negotiators.

Las Vegas Miriam Adelson Trump Israel
President-elect Donald Trump embraces Las Vegas Sands casino billionaire Dr. Miriam Adelson ahead of the 2024 election in September. Adelson reportedly pressured the president-elect to end the Israel-Hamas war before he even entered the White House for a second time. (Image: AFP)

President Joe Biden confirmed on Wednesday that a deal to stop the armed conflict — the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War more than a half-century ago — had been reached. The president said the terms, which could be implemented as soon as this Sunday, will result in over 30 hostages in Gaza, including women children, and seniors, being exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done. The vice president and I cannot wait to welcome them home,” the outgoing president said in remarks at the White House with Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken by his side.

Biden said his administration worked with President-elect Donald Trump’s squad to speak “as one team” in negotiating the deal. Trump’s Special Mideast Envoy, led by businessman Steve Witkoff, who formerly owned the building that became the Fontainebleau on the Las Vegas Strip, worked with Biden’s Mideast advisor, Brett McGurk, for several days in Doha on finding common ground with the Hamas negotiators. 

Trump Pressure

Trump, a strong ally of the Israeli State, celebrated the ceasefire and planned return of the hostages.

This epic ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our historic victory in November, as it signaled to the entire world that my administration would seek peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all American and our allies,” Trump declared on his Truth Social media platform.

“We have achieved so much without even being in the White House. Just imagine all of the wonderful things that will happen when I return,” the boastful president-elect continued.

Trump was reportedly pressured by Dr. Miriam Adelson, the controlling stakeholder of Las Vegas Sands, the casino empire she inherited from her late husband, Sheldon Adelson, to swiftly resolve the Israel-Hamas war. Adelson, an Israeli-American born in Tel Aviv, gave more than $100 million to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

Israeli journalist Ben Caspit reported this week in the Maariv, a daily Hebrew language newspaper published in Israel, that Adelson has been on Trump since his November 5 victory to free the hostages.

“The Adelsons played a crucial role in crafting Trump’s pro-Israel protocols, such as recognizing Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights and moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem. The reports underscore Adelson’s strategic role in US-Israel diplomacy through her relationship with Trump and claim that her influence has helped shape substantial decisions,” the Jerusalem Post wrote.  

Adelson Inauguration Party 

Dr. Adelson, along with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Golden Nugget casino tycoon Tilman Fertitta, and billionaires Sylvie Legere & Todd Ricketts, are hosting an inauguration event next Monday.

Just hours after Trump is sworn in for his second term, the handful of billionaires are bankrolling a shindig called, “Celebrating the Inauguration of President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance.” The black tie event is to run from 6:30 to 10 pm, with the location provided to the gala’s exclusive guests.