Columnist Jeff German: Casinos score a big win on federal gaming commission

Thursday, May 28, 1998 | 10:42 a.m.

IT WAS BARELY NOTICED, but the casino industry came away with another important victory at last week's National Gambling Impact Study Commission meeting in Chicago.

Chairwoman Kay James, following some politicking behind the scenes, named MGM Grand Inc. Chairman Terry Lanni to the commission's crucial Report Subcommittee.

James, a prominent player in the religious right, which is pushing an anti-gaming agenda, is chairing the committee that will develop the framework for the commission's report to Congress in June 1999.

The nine-member commission is conducting a two-year study of the social and economic impact of gambling across America.

Originally, Lanni wasn't assigned to the Report Subcommittee, which would have left the industry without a voice during the panel's deliberations.

James, however, wisely decided to name a casino representative to the committee, which now looks very balanced.

The panel's other two members are Richard Leone, a level-headed former New Jersey state treasurer who opposed legalized gambling in Atlantic City 20 years ago, and Dr. Paul Moore, who has concerns about gaming, but who lives in Mississippi, which has prospered from casinos.

Lanni's presence will give the committee more credibility when it makes its recommendations to the full commission.

At the same time, it will provide the casino industry's chief Washington lobbyist, American Gaming Association President Frank Fahrenkopf, with an inside track to the report as it's being written.

But that wasn't the only good news for the industry at last week's meeting.

James appointed Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible to head the commission's Regulation, Enforcement & Internet Subcommittee.

The panel will examine how gambling is regulated in the country and delve into the most interesting phenomenon of all, Internet gambling.

Bible and the casino industry share a keen interest in making sure the federal government doesn't get involved in regulating gaming.

Maybe the best news of all for casino bosses last week was that James Dobson, the anti-gaming guru and darling of the religious right, wasn't asked to chair any of the new panels James created.

Dobson, a Denver-based radio talk show host, has become the industry's most feared opponent. He reaches millions of conservative listeners across the country.

These are dynamic times, indeed, for the casino industry.

The Nevada Resort Association, the industry's political arm here, is looking to beef up its operations to deal with the challenges that lie ahead in Washington and the state.

High on the list of political operatives who could help the industry is Jim Mulhall, chief of staff to retiring Gov. Bob Miller.

Longtime NRA President Richard Bunker has been engaged in "serious conversations" aimed at bringing Mulhall and his wealth of political experience on board.

Some believe Mulhall could be groomed to succeed Bunker when he retires, which may be sooner than many think.

For Mulhall, going to work for the NRA would be perfect timing. He needs to line up new employment before Miller leaves office in January.

Word is this deal could come together very fast.

Yet another judge has gotten off Mike Anzalone's civil suit against Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa.

Anzalone, a former Del Papa investigator, sued his ex-boss in February alleging he was forced to resign in 1996 because he wouldn't pursue an intelligence investigation of gaming regulators.

Del Papa has strongly denied the allegation.

Recently, District Judge Sally Loehrer joined her colleague, Nancy Becker, in disqualifying herself from the case.

This week, there's word the revolving door may stop at the courtroom of District Judge Mark Gibbons, the latest to be assigned the suit.

Gibbons has no plans to remove himself and is determined to issue a decision soon on whether to allow the case to go to trial.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is making sure his friend, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., receives a proper Las Vegas welcome this week.

Reid planned to host a $1,000-a-person fund-raiser here for Daschle Wednesday night.

The Democratic leader joins a long list of Washington politicians who have come to Las Vegas seeking to tap into the deep pockets of the casino industry.