Billy Long charges two more Las Vegas trips to campaign account

Billy Long's campaign contributors footed the bill for two trips to Las Vegas in April, according to his quarterly report filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission.

Long recorded $835.84 for "travel/hotel" and $272.42 for "campaign event/meal" both at the Venitian Hotel and Casino on April 22, according to the report. Another travel/hotel expense for the Venitian was recorded on April 1 for $245.28.

The Seventh District Congressman's campaign account has paid for at least six trips to Vegas since the beginning of 2012, according to FEC documents, while special interests paid for a seventh.

Long reported $936.32 for a stay at the Venetian Hotel on July 5, 2012. Earlier that day Long spent $609.29 for a meal at Tortilla Coast in Washington. D. C., a place where one reviewer wrote, "The food is great; the drinks are perfectly strong, but not too strong."

It is not clear what campaign event Long was attending in Las Vegas, but if he stayed at the Venetian Hotel on July 5 as the disclosure report indicates, he certainly picked a busy day at the hotel. On that same day, according to the hotel website,  things were hopping at the Venetian Poker Room, especially in the  "high-stakes area, featuring seven high-limit tables, two relaxation areas, butler service, and gourmet dining."

And as part of the poker room's "Deep Stack Extravaganza," a tournament was being held July 5, No Limit Hold 'Em with a $2,375 buy-in, a $125 entry fee, and a prize pot of $382,200.

It was just as busy on the April 2013 dates with multiple poker tournaments scheduled on those days, according to the Venitian website.

Long's second quarter report in 2012 indicated he made two trips to Vegas. As I noted in the July 17, 2012, Turner Report:

The report appears to show two trips to Vegas for Long since he has a listing for Allegiant Air, Las Vegas, $451.58 on May 21, and lists a meal at Mars Retail, Las Vegas, on April 11, with a cost of $303.74.

The 2012 first quarter disclosure report also showed a Vegas trip paid for by Long's campaign contributors, $241.26 for a flight with Allegiant Air, Las Vegas, on March 5.

Long made a fifth Vegas trip, but this was not billed to his campaign account. As I wrote in the Feb. 13, 2012, Turner Report:

In-person town hall meetings seem to be a thing of the past for Seventh District Congressman Billy Long, but junkets to Las Vegas, paid for by special interest groups, are on his approved list.

The Washington newspaper Roll Call reports today that the Consumer Electronics Association paid $2,000 for three days of Long's four-day stay in Sin City from Jan. 8-11. Records show Long paid his own expenses for one of the four days:

Travel disclosure reports filed with the House Ethics Committee show that participants used an exemption that permits additional travel time to far-off locations and paid their own hotel bills for an extra day or two, allowing them to spend several days in Vegas and still accept round-trip airfare and other expenses from the association — exactly what a 2007 rules change was supposed to eliminate.

The 110th Congress enacted new rules that bar entities that retain or employ lobbyists from sponsoring most forms of Congressional travel that last more than one day but left open the possibility that an additional night’s lodging would be approved in “exceptional” circumstances and that travelers could extend the trip out of their own pocket. Combined, the two provisions allow a one-day trip to morph into an excursion of four or more days.

“The point is to make sure these trips are business-related and do not turn into vacation junkets,” Public Citizen’s Craig Holman said. “By combining these two, it turns what should be a quick business trip into a junket. This is exactly what we wanted to stop.”