Columnist Jeff German:McDonald’s clubhouse deal tees off local golfers

Saturday, Nov. 29, 1997 | 3:54 a.m.

LOCAL duffers have City Councilman Michael McDonald to thank for doubling greens fees at the Las Vegas Golf Club, the city's best known and most-used public course.

McDonald last week persuaded two of his colleagues, Mayor Jan Laverty Jones and Councilman Larry Brown, to join him in approving the hike so that he could claim credit for building a $4.4 million clubhouse that will serve golfers more than just chicken fingers.

The vote was jammed through the City Council so fast that local golfers had little or no chance to tell everyone how teed off they are about the boondoggle.

Despite protests from veteran Councilman Arnie Adamsen, the contract was awarded to the same company that has let the greens and fairways deteriorate at the public course the past couple of years.

That makes no sense at all.

But what makes less sense is the inexperienced McDonald's logic in pushing to spend $4.4 million in taxpayer money on the new clubhouse.

Had the golfers been given their say, they would have told McDonald that the fee hike is way out of bounds. They would have told him they'd rather play 18 holes at the cheapest possible price than dine on jumbo prawns in a clubhouse that rivals the Las Vegas Country Club.

The biggest complaint from golfers around town, those who don't have fat wallets, is not that they don't like being served chicken fingers when they come off the links. It's that they can't afford the high price of playing golf at the private courses.

McDonald seems to have misread the public's pulse here, a mistake that could cost him a penalty stroke at his next election. Not only is this project unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer money, it does a disservice to local golfers.

To arms fellow duffers Q and guard your wallets.

The holiday season seems to have touched the warring Binion family. After a slow start, Becky Behnen says she feels confident she'll be able to work out a deal to buy the Horseshoe Club from her brother, Jack Binion, by the end of the year.

A couple of weeks ago, Behnen indicated that her brother, the majority stockholder of the family-owned downtown casino, was reluctant to sell his interests.

Behnen has been trying to buy the legendary downtown casino while suing Binion in District Court for alleged mismanagement, a charge he denies.

Expect the suit to be dropped if Behnen gets the Horseshoe. Making peace with his sister will allow Binion to concentrate on his thriving casino ventures outside Nevada.

Meanwhile, the black sheep of the family, suspended Horseshoe co-owner Ted Binion, still may be playing a role at the casino even though the state has ordered him to stay out.

Insiders report that Binion's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, may be serving as a "courier" carrying messages between Binion and Horseshoe officials.

Recently, Murphy, a former topless dancer, was spotted having dinner with her family at the Horseshoe's steak house while a casino security officer stood nearby guarding the table.

Ted Binion's association with Murphy, who like him has been accused of drug use, has been part of his troubles with state gaming agents.

Hanging out with reputed underworld figures hasn't helped, either.

The Gaming Control Board has filed a complaint against Binion seeking to revoke his license.

The plan by Democrats to recapture the Senate may be running into an obstacle. Democrats hope to win back two Senate seats next year to erase a 12-9 Republican majority.

One of the Republicans targeted is state Sen. Kathy Augustine, R-Las Vegas. But word is Augustine, after receiving low approval ratings from her constituents, has decided not to seek re-election.

That may open the door for moderate Republican Assemblyman Jack Close of Las Vegas to run in her place. Close confirms he's considering a bid. Democrats were counting on exploiting Augustine's baggage to win back the seat in a district that has 6,000 more Democrats than Republicans.

But Close, ranking Southern Nevada Republican on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, has appeal across party lines. His district has 1,600 of those extra 6,000 Democrats.

All is not lost, however, for the Democrats. They have two strong candidates in the race, lawyer Terry Care, the favorite of Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, and Russell Davis, a county financial analyst and former aide to Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev.

No one, however, expects Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, to relinquish control without a fight.

He's likely to be huddling with Close a lot in the coming weeks.

Political pundits in Washington are giving the ||y003 . 0002.08_||Democrats a strong chance of regaining the 1st Congressional District now that Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., has decided to run for the Senate.

Charles Cook recently wrote in the Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, that the GOP's chances of holding the seat without Ensign have slipped to "35 or 40 percent at best." The odds with Ensign in the race, according to Cook, were 60 percent.

Republicans have yet to find a credible candidate to challenge the leading Democrat, Regent Shelley Berkley, who already has raised nearly $400,000.

There are 39,000 more Democrats than Republicans in the 1st District. _

We've seen it before, but Las Vegas cabbies say they're serious this time about organizing.

No more cry-baby stuff. A flier is circulating among cabbies announcing the formation of the United Nevada Taxicab Drivers, an underground organization dedicated to improving work conditions.

"The rich owners have more than enough to live comfortably for the rest of their lives," the flier proclaims. "It's time to get our slice of the American pie."

The flier says the group plans to keep its membership list a secret. "No one will disclose to outsiders the names of the other members," the flier says. "Your enthusiasm and positive reaction toward the organization will identify you as a supporter."

The cabbies are being encouraged to "take charge" of their lives.