The economic downturn has hit Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson especially hard. And that could spell trouble for some of Adelson's favorite conservative groups, notably Freedom's Watch, which has received an estimated $40 million in donations from the Republican sugar daddy.

Sources say that Freedom's Watch, which launced in mid-2007 and has spent millions of dollars this fall on issue ads in about a half-dozen Senate races and some two-dozen House races to help embattled GOP members, could be forced to close its doors later this year. The group has had a hiring freeze for several months.

According to recent press reports, Adelson's personal fortune -- last year estimated at $28 billion -- has declined by about $4 billion just since August. Last month, too, in the most recent Forbes 400 listing of the richest Americans, Adelson, the chairman of the Las Vegas Sands, dropped from 3rd to 15th place.

                                                                                           -- Peter H. Stone