LAS VEGAS, Nevada // It is people like Paul Prekop who make Nevada a maddeningly difficult state for the United States president, Barack Obama, to lock down, and who give the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney hope that there's a route to the White House even if he loses the big prize of Ohio.
Mr Prekop, 54, said he benefited from a union contract in his job as a casino craps dealer. He credits Democrats for the stock market's four-year rise. And he's grateful that Mr Obama's healthcare law lets him keep his young-adult son on his insurance plan. "I'm not really a big Romney fan," he added.
So, did Mr Prekop help to re-elect the president when he voted early on a gorgeous afternoon in a north-west Las Vegas suburb on Thursday? No.
"We just need a change," he said, explaining his vote for Mr Romney. "I'm scared of Obama the next four years, the socialistic things he's into."
If Mr Prekop was swayed by the avalanche of anti-Obama adverts on Las Vegas TV stations, perhaps it is understandable. No region in America has seen more presidential campaign commercials. Last week alone, Mr Romney's campaign and its allies spent US$3.6 million (Dh13.2m) on television advertising in Nevada, while Mr Obama and his supporters spent $2.7m.
Interspersed with the hard-hitting presidential adverts are even harsher commercials for the state's fiercely contested Senate race and House contests.
Some strategists in both parties said the endless flood of TV adverts, phone calls and mailshots may cancel out each other, making door-to-door voter turnout efforts more vital than ever.
"I see tonnes of TV ads. I just ignore them," said Juanita Sowell, 50, a college administrative assistant who joined about 13,000 others to see Mr Obama at an outdoor rally in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Several said they no longer answered their phones, to avoid campaign pitches.
Mr Romney also campaigned in Nevada last week, making stops in Reno and Henderson.
The flood of spending reveals Nevada's potentially crucial role, even though it draws a fraction of the national attention devoted to Ohio.
If Nevada's importance is clear, its political landscape is quirky.
A sizeable Mormon population coexists with the strip clubs, casinos and "Sin City" legacy of Las Vegas. Mr Obama is counting on big margins from Latinos - 27 per cent of the state's population - and from labour unions, anchored by Las Vegas's hotel and restaurant workers.
But joblessness in Nevada is running at 11.8 per cent, the nation's highest unemployment rate. And the state was clobbered by the collapse in home values, with thousands of borrowers owing more than their houses are worth. Mr Romney lays these and other economic troubles at Mr Obama's feet.
"Can you afford four more years of doubling of the gasoline prices you're paying?" Mr Romney asked a crowd in Henderson last week.
"With the millions of dollars from special interests flooding Nevadans' television screens, phones, and mailboxes, eventually you hit a point of diminishing returns," said Obama campaign spokesman Ty Matsdorf. "Our organisation is so important because a neighbour-to-neighbour conversation can cut through all the adverts out there and show voters what is at stake."
As of Friday, about a quarter of Nevada's voters had cast their ballots, and Mr Obama seemed to have an early voting edge.
About 46 per cent of the ballots were cast by registered Democrats, and 36 per cent by Republicans.
But Republicans say such statistics can be misleading.
"We know Republicans vote later in the process, and we're right where we want to be," said Mr Romney's campaign spokesman, Mason Harrison. "We always knew the race would be neck and neck."
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
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The%20specs
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
