When candidates running for federal office raise funds out of state, most often they head to the financial centers of the country.

But some local politicians prefer to try their luck somewhere else: in the hottest resorts and gaming towns of the Americas.

For U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Brighton) and U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 (D-Mass), the jackpot seems to lie in Las Vegas and Puerto Rico, where cocktail parties and hotel-hopping this year have helped to fatten their campaign piggy-banks.

While Sen. Kennedy targeted donors in the gambling capital of the U.S. to raise four percent of his $939,070 in earnings for this year's first quarter, Rep. Kennedy hit the Puerto Rico coast, collecting more than 28 percent of his cumulative $115,230 in the same period, according to campaign finance reports released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

As of April 15, the most recent disclosure of campaign finance records, Sen. Kennedy had $2,793,836 total on hand, and Rep. Kennedy had $581,400.

At just one dinner party last February with prominent physicians and casino-owners in Law Vegas' Spago's Restaurant, Sen. Kennedy, who is facing re-election for the sixth time, raked in $40,000.

And in a strikingly similar event--also with local physicians and other professionals--at the Hyatt Regency Cerromar in Puerto Rico, Rep. Kennedy, who is seeking his fifth term, was dealt more than $32,400 in contributions.

Despite the festive fund-raisers, however the donors' generosity did not often depend on the appeal of the politicians platforms. What drew the money from these contributors was the Kennedy name.

"The more famous individuals are capable of raising money all over," says Ian H. Stirton, a public affairs specialist at the Federal Election Commission.

James E. Nave a Las Vegas veterinarian who attended Sen. Kennedy's fund-raiser, says that though he does not agree with Kennedy's views-especially on health care--he enjoyed meeting a Kennedy in person.

And it must have been quite a meeting. Despite his disagreements with Kennedy, Nave contributed $1,000 to his re-election campaign, according to FEC records.

"I have admired and adored the Kennedy family since I was 16 years old", Nave says. "They have given so much to this country."

"I don't necessarily share any particular one of his views," adds Nave. "But I believe he's a great voice that needs to be heard."

Although a USA Today article in April indicated that casino executives were paying large sums of money to political candidates in order to prevent the passage of a four percent federal tax on casino revenues many Las Vegas entrepreneurs interviewed say they were not lobbying Sen. Kennedy on this issue.

And since Gov. William F. Weld '66 announced last week that he has abandoned his plans to bring casinos to Massachusetts, legalized gambling-which has been a controversial issue in Massachusetts this year--is no longer a hot issue in this year's campaign.