Hillary Comes Up Aces

Las Vegas

THE BELLAGIO HOTEL and Casino opened in 1998 and has been, for the last decade, the crown jewel of the Vegas Strip. It's opulence is embodied by an 8 acre lake in front of the hotel which features a $50 million fountain that performs elaborate displays choreographed to music. (The fountain really is an 8th Wonder of the World, shooting water 250 feet into the air as it dances.) The Bellagio has hosted celebrities and been featured in movies. Never before has it been a meaningful part of a presidential election. Until now.

The Bellagio was one of the nine "at-large" sites established by Nevada's Democratic party to make it easier for members of the Culinary Workers Union to participate in the state's stepped-up caucus. The caucus goers started lining up at 11:00 a.m. and among them you could see a few casino-worker archetypes: pneumatic, blonde cocktail waitresses; short, round-faced housekeeping staff; tuxedoed valets; white-jacketed kitchen staff; the soulless blackjack dealers with their cold, dead eyes.

At 30,800 square feet, with soaring, 24-foot ceilings and ornate moldings, the Bellagio's Tower Ballroom might be the most decadent caucus room in the history of American democracy. Yet only 240 chairs were set up in front of the stage, leaving acres of floor-space open--except for a small rectangle sectioned off with red velvet ropes for the media.

Members of the Culinary Workers Union stood just inside the doors handing out Obama stickers as voters filed in. A few caucus goers carried "Hillary" placards and wore Clinton t-shirts. Almost all of the voters here were caucusing on their lunch break, so many of them toted lunch boxes provided by the Bellagio.

The rules for these at-large sites state that only voters who work within 2.5 miles of the site, and who were scheduled to work sometime during the caucus window, could use the at-large site instead of the site corresponding to their residence. The Bellagio employs nearly 10,000 people, so its no surprise that turnout was heavy. By 11:45, the chairs were filled and about 100 people were milling about the ballroom; many more people thronged outside at the caucus registration tables, trying to get in before noon, when the doors were scheduled to be shut.

Just before noon, a few Clinton supporters by the door began chanting "Hillary! Hillary!" Obama supporters answered with their own chant, only to be completely drowned out by chants of "Hillary" that materialized from the previously quiet voters seated near the stage. The voters separated into two groups, with the Obama supporters on the left side of the stage and the Clinton supporters on the right. People on both sides chanted and waved banners and placards; Clinton seemed to have the bigger numbers.

As for turnout, Democratic officials have been saying all week that they thought 45,000 people might caucus in total, with perhaps 4,500 of them (10 percent) doing so at the casino at-large sites. When the caucus was called to order at 12:17, voters were still filing into the ballroom. After everyone was set, the initial count showed 495 voters at the caucus; making the threshold for candidate viability 75 supporters.

During the initial sort, Clinton supporters massed in the center of the room; the Obama supporters off to the left. Their numbers close to even, both groups chanted loudly. Eight lonely Edward supporters stood forlornly on the right-side of the room.

Only the Clinton and Obama camps were viable after the first sort. Clinton had 271 votes; Obama 191. It's a huge victory for her here.

If Obama was going to win Nevada, he needed to have a strong performance in the at-large sites where the muscle from his Culinary Union Workers endorsement could create support. Clinton's big win at the Bellagio, a union stronghold, suggests that she may do very well when the final totals are put together later this afternoon.

Jonathan V. Last is a staff writer at THE WEEKLY STANDARD.