Oct 13 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, in a speech

to Israel's parliament, spotlighted mega-donor Miriam Adelson's

outsized influence on U.S. policy toward Israel, recalling her

frequent White House visits with her late husband, casino mogul

Sheldon Adelson.

Sheldon Adelson, who died in 2021, assembled the world's

largest casino empire as head of Las Vegas Sands Corp ( LVS )

and put much of his fortune into nurturing conservative

politicians and policies in the United States and Israel.

Both Adelsons have been known for their philanthropy and

business ventures in Israel and donations to Jewish causes.

She loves Israel," Trump told the Knesset on Monday,

crediting the couple with shaping decisions like his 2017

recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, his 2018 move of

the U.S. embassy to the holy city, and his 2019 endorsement of

Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

Gesturing to Adelson, an Israeli-born physician and a major

donor to his presidential campaigns, Trump said, "Stand up,

Miriam," before recounting how the Adelsons would regularly call

and visit him in the Oval Office.

He joked that her husband was so persistent he'd "come in

through the window," underscoring the couple's extraordinary

access and impact on his administration.

With a grin, Trump said, "She's got $60 billion in the

bank," then added, "I think she is saying, 'No, more,'" drawing

laughter. He praised her as a wonderful woman whose devotion was

so deep, she once refused to say which she loved more - Israel

or the United States.

A senior U.S. official said Miriam Adelson had played a

behind-the-scenes role in urging the president to keep striving

for the return of hostages that Hamas abducted from Israel to

Gaza in 2023. The last of the survivors returned on Monday.

In 2018 Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to

Miriam Adelson, citing her as having championed addiction

research, founded medical centres with her late husband and

helped launch the Adelson Medical Research Foundation.