During the past few weeks of the presidential campaign, Republican nominee, John McCain, has played on his ‘maverick’ risk-taker image more than ever before - from his big gamble of naming the previously unknown Sarah Palin as his running mate to his wildly ‘indecisive’ decision of participating in the first presidential debate.

Therefore, the news that McCain has been a ‘life-long gambler’ in and out of the Vegas crap tables should not come as a surprise. He is usually seen throwing around $100 chips in the room reserved for high stakes gamblers at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. The question that needs deliberation then is - In this time of chaos and crisis for the country, do people want a president, who appears to be addicted to gambling - using their money, their nukes and their future as his chips?

The fact is that over his 25 years in the Congress, McCain has built deep ties with the gambling industry and their lobbyists. A two-time chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, McCain has done more than any other member of Congress to shape the laws governing America’s casinos, helping transform the once-sleepy Indian gambling business into a $26-billion-a-year behemoth.

Steven Light, a leading Indian gambling expert, says that McCain is considered “One of the founding fathers of Indian gaming.”

It is well known in the fiercely competitive gaming industry that if you want to be recognized as an ‘official’ legitimate Indian tribe, in order to start a tribal casino, you cannot do it unless you have the support of John McCain. According to an examination based on more than 70 interviews and thousands of pages of documents, factions of the industry feel that it is advantageous to cultivate a relationship with Mr. McCain or hire someone who knows him.

Although McCain tries to paint a picture of himself as being above the influence of ‘special interests’ in his current campaign, he has more than 40 fund-raisers and top advisors who have either lobbied for or worked for gambling interests, including tribal and Las Vegas casinos, lottery companies and on-line poker dealers. Reacting to questions in this regard, McCain’s campaign staff said he was “justifiably proud” of his record on Indian gambling.

According to Congressional and American Indian officials, with the growing public opposition to tribal casinos in recent years, McCain has distanced himself from Indian gambling.