Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson appears to be losing hope in the electoral prospects of Newt Gingrich, whose campaign he has almost singlehandedly kept afloat in recent months.
During a conversation recorded on Monday by JewishJournal.com, Adelson praised Gingrich's approach to politics, while criticizing his rivals, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. That explains why the billionaire has pumped such a significant total of money into the Gingrich campaign -- $16.5 million through the Winning Our Future super PAC, according to the Los Angeles Times.
However, Adelson also conceded that the former House speaker had little realistic hope of being the Republican nominee:
It appears as though [Gingrich is] at the end of his line. Because mathematically he can't get anywhere near the numbers [of delegates required to gain the nomination], and there's unlikely to be a brokered convention.
At this point in primary season, the Gingrich campaign has all but admitted that a brokered convention is it's only hope of securing the Republican nomination, and has undergone a significant organizational shakeup with that in mind. However, Adelson is not alone in believing such an outcome improbable.
Though he acknowledged Gingrich's weak position in the race, Adelson did not explicitly indicate whether or not he would consider donating to to the campaign again.