How badly will casino mogul Sheldon Adelson's bribery admission hurt Republicans?

For the GOP, 79-year-old casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson is just about the most important donor this side of the Koch brothers, dishing out nearly $100 million to (mostly Republican) candidates during the 2012 elections. So the news that Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corp. admitted in a regulatory filing that it "likely" violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing Chinese officials probably won't be greeted with smiles by GOP campaign managers.

Also problematic: This revelation comes amid ongoing probes into the Adelson empire by the SEC, DOJ, and FBI.

How big of an issue is this for Republicans? Adelson was, after all, the man whom Mitt Romney publicly wooed after Newt Gingrich dropped out of the GOP race — despite receiving $21.5 million in Adelson super PAC money. But despite Adelson's very public backing of GOP candidates, as Ezra Klein points out, this would be a much bigger deal if Romney were sitting in the White House instead of chatting up Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday:

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Of course, Romney didn't win. But that might not be the only reason the story will likely fade. One anonymous Republican fundraiser told the Financial Times that "the admission would have 'no impact' because there were no 'credible reasons' to believe the allegations personally reflected on Mr Adelson." In this view, wrongdoing by the company might not necessarily besmirch the reputation of the man at its head.

Even Adelson's gambling empire may emerge largely unscathed, apparently because such accusations are commonly viewed as part of doing business in corruption-ravaged Macau.

Here's Hong Kong-based gaming analyst Michael Ting's take:

So yes, being accused of bribing foreign officials isn't exactly great press. But judging from the almost-yawn-like reception to this revelation, candidates probably won't be leaping to cut ties with a big-time donor reportedly worth $25 billion. Indeed, presidential hopefuls have already started courting Adelson for 2016. Just a week after Election Day 2012, Republican Govs. Bobby Jindal, John Kasich, and Bob McDonnell all attended private meetings with Adelson at his Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, according to Politico. So don't expect the race for the billionaire's bucks — what Salon calls the "Adelson primary" — to be canceled anytime soon.