Columnist Jeff German: Casino industry set to put on new face for detractors

Thursday, Dec. 5, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

RECOGNIZING THAT gaming will be under the national microscope for months to come, the industry is embarking on yet another long-range public relations campaign to show off its best side.

Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the Washington-based American Gaming Association, says the new marketing strategy will "put a face on the industry."

It will explain that gaming has hundreds of thousands of hard-working people within its ranks. These are real people with families and kids who play in little leagues.

"We've got to do a better job of showing who are employees are," says Fahrenkopf, who was disclosing the campaign today at the American Gaming Summit at Caesars Palace.

No one's ready to say gaming is as American as "baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet."

But casino leaders think they've hit upon something that will convey a softer, gentler side to the industry.

At the very least, the campaign will make it harder for gaming's critics on the religious right to base their attacks on moral grounds.

The campaign is seen as crucial in the industry's bid to promote its success story before the federal commission Congress set up to study gaming.

Word of the image makeover comes as Fahrenkopf released an Arthur Anderson Co. study today debunking the myth that casinos cannibalize other businesses in their communities.

Fahrenkopf is more confident than ever that gaming will get a chance to tell its story to the national commission.

"I think we're going to get a fair shake," he says. "There's no doubt in my mind."

That optimism is drawn from the industry's ability to influence the selection of appointees to the nine-member panel.

The industry has lobbied hard for the representation it believes it deserves on the commission.

One casino boss, MGM Grand Inc. Chairman Terry Lanni, already has been named.

Lanni proved his worth last weekend by holding his own during a discussion of gambling on the CBS program "Face the Nation."

Though the panel will include members aligned with the anti-gaming religious right, the industry has done a masterful job of getting its people on board.

President Clinton still has to name his three picks, and one of them is expected to be State Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, who many believe is the foremost expert on gaming regulation in the world.

And there's still hope that House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., will make International Culinary Union leader John Wilhelm his choice.

Wilhelm, elected international secretary-treasurer this summer, has been the Culinary's chief contract negotiator with Las Vegas casinos the past several years. He's regarded as a thoughtful, moderate labor voice who knows how gaming can energize a community.

Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Bill Curran shares Fahrenkopf's opinion that the industry has a chance to shine in Washington, D.C., in the coming months.

"Gaming in Nevada has nothing to be afraid of if there's a fair study," Curran says.

The state's regulatory scheme, he says, is the world's best.

Curran says the industry needs to cooperate fully with the commission to ensure being portrayed in its best light.

Former Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Rumbolz, now a gaming executive, says enforcement here has come to be respected for its ability to adapt to the growing industry through the years.

"We've got nothing to be ashamed of," Rumbolz says.

Mirage hotel-casino President Bobby Baldwin says the casino industry will get a chance to show that it's like any other industry.

"If the study is fair and not distorted, we ought to do very well," Baldwin says.

Fahrenkopf, however, is taking no chances, as he moves to put a face on an industry that has been in the shadows too long.

Fahrenkopf

Curran