Donald Trump Gets Heat from Las Vegas Hotel Workers as GOP Race Moves Towards Contested Convention

Posted on: April 6, 2016, 10:54h. 

Last updated on: April 6, 2016, 11:10h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s chances of avoiding a contested convention have narrowed, following a pounding from Ted Cruz in Wisconsin in Tuesday’s primaries.

Donald Trump Las Vegas hotel unionizes
Donald Trump (seen here at a rally in Las Vegas earlier this year) took a trouncing in Wisconsin on Tuesday, and now the likelihood of a contested GOP convention is more probable than ever for Cleveland this July. (Image: Ethan Miller/Getty)

Cruz took down the Badger State in commanding fashion with nearly one in two Wisconsin voters picking the Texas senator over the increasingly controversial Trump.

The evangelistic candidate received 48.2 percent of the vote to Trump’s 35.1 percent, while Ohio Governor John Kasich finished third with 14.1 percent. In the end, 36 delegates went to Cruz, and Trump was awarded six.

On the Democratic side of the race, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won yet another contest, his sixth win of the past seven states. However, Hillary Clinton still maintains her lead over the surging senator with 1,279 delegates to his 1,027.

Cruz’s victory could be a turning point in the Republican race for the nomination and moves the race closer to a historic contested convention. It now seems more doubtful that either Trump or Cruz will achieve the 1,237 pledged delegates threshold to secure the GOP ticket uncontested.

As of today, Trump is still in first place with 743 delegates to Cruz’s 517.

With only 882 delegates still outstanding, Cruz would need to win nearly 82 percent of the upcoming vote. Trump would need to claim 56 percent.

Who’s on First?

?Though Cruz still believes he can win the necessary 1,237 delegates, few political experts think it’s likely or feasible.

“Tonight is a turning point,” Cruz said after he was declared the victor. “I am more and more convinced that our campaign is going to win the 1,237 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination.”

The odds of that happening seem about as likely as making money playing slots.

Pundits in the political arena more widely believe that Cruz, as well as Kasich, who’s mathematically eliminated, is hoping for a contested convention against the former casino magnate. In that scenario, no presumptive nominee would arrive in Cleveland, and after a first ballot vote, the majority of delegates could swing to any candidate of their choosing.

Union Pushes Back

Cruz, Kasich, and others on the conservative right are trying to persuade voters to vacate the Trump camp. Attack ads and petty social media quarrels, which Trump readily plays into, has seemingly slowed the billionaire’s campaign and increased his unfavorable poll numbers.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, Trump is also receiving heat, but instead of political foes, it’s from the very employees he pays.

On Monday, 500 Trump Las Vegas workers officially unionized to negotiate new and better contracts.

“We voted for a union so we could negotiate a fair contract,” employee Jeffrey Wise told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We voted and won, now it’s time for him to listen to us, the voters, and finally do the right thing by making a deal with his employees.”

Like most private business owners, Trump leadership is against the union and had marketed to employees that unionizing wasn’t in the individuals’ best interest. The newly formed union will represent both full and part-time employees who serve in housekeeping, food and beverage, and guest services.

Trump International Hotel Las Vegas is a casino-less property situated right behind the chichi Fashion Show Mall on the Las Vegas Strip.

In addition to his political opponents and the Vegas union, the Internet hacking group Anonymous forced several Trump websites offline last Friday. The anarchist cluster is on a crusade to disrupt his campaign and businesses, claiming it’s due to Trump’s controversial immigration and foreign policy positions.