FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, July 23, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge regarding prediction markets and Nevada casino jobs:
We applaud Representatives Steven Horsford and Mark Amodei for introducing the Prediction Markets are Gambling Act in the US House.
Congress must act urgently to protect good jobs by passing this legislation. Lawmakers should reaffirm that gaming is governed by Tribal and state authorities and explicitly ban prediction market sports betting and casino games.
Prediction markets are running illegal sports betting across the country, putting hospitality jobs at risk. In Nevada, prediction markets are threatening the jobs of 60,000 Culinary Union members who are employed at casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, in Downtown Las Vegas, and in Reno.
We thank Senator Adam Schiff for his leadership and Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and John Curtis for co-sponsoring the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act in the Senate. We also thank Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford for standing up to prediction markets to protect working families and for defending Nevada's highly regulated gaming industry.
Culinary Union members have organized for nine decades for hospitality jobs to be good union jobs with fair wages, the best family health care benefits, and a guaranteed retirement pension. We will not let out-of-state prediction market companies gamble that away. Congress must stand with hospitality workers and pass the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act.
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ABOUT CULINARY UNION:
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest healthcare consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 120,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members, and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latinx/Black/AAPI/immigrant organization with members who come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. We are proud to have helped over 18,000 immigrants become American citizens and new voters since 2001 through our affiliate, The Citizenship Project.
The Culinary Union has a diverse membership which is 55% women and 60% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latino/a, 18% white, 15% Asian, 12% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples.
Culinary Union members work as: Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry, and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting and winning for working families in Nevada for 90 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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