Indian gaming leaders fire back at governor

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1998 | 11:07 a.m.

Gov. Bob Miller sparked a war of words between Nevada and Native American leaders at Tuesday's National Gambling Impact Study Commission hearing.

Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan, both D-Nev., came to Miller's defense late in the hearing after one commissioner accused the governor of taking a "cheap shot" at the Indian tribes.

At the opening of the two-day hearing, which took place before a crowd of more than 800 at the MGM Grand, Miller told the nine-member commission it should take a hard look at the "questionable endeavors" of gambling on Indian reservations and the Internet.

He suggested the lucrative gaming operations of some 300 tribes across the country basically are unregulated and provide no revenues to support local and state governments.

Miller, former chairman of the National Governors Association, said his feelings are shared by his colleagues in other states.

Afterward, Rick Hill, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association, circulated a news release calling the governor's remarks "ill-informed" and designed to "dampen" support for Indian gaming, especially in California, where voters approved a ballot initiative this month that allows Las Vegas-style casinos on reservations.

"The passage of this ballot measure has been seen as a significant threat to the Nevada casino industry," Hill said.

Later, after all four members of the Nevada's congressional delegation had addressed the commission, the only Native American on the panel, Robert Loescher of Alaska, disputed Miller's assertion that Indian gaming regulations are lax.

"This morning we had to endure a cheap shot by Gov. Miller," Loescher said.

That prompted strong responses from Reid and Bryan.

"Gov. Miller doesn't take cheap shots," Reid told Loescher. "What he said he believes. For you to say that Indian gaming is regulated properly is based either on a lack of knowledge or wishful thinking."

Reid, who helped write the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which authorized gambling on tribal lands, added: "There's an unfair playing field out there."

Bryan agreed, saying, "We have a regulatory vacuum."

In an interview after the hearing, Miller stood by his comments.

"Whatever misinformation is emanating from their side, the statements I made I believe are accurate," he said. "They were echoed by every member of our congressional delegation, and they're consistent with the position of the National Governors Association.

"They shouldn't be taking affront to it. All I asked was that the commission pay close attention to it because it needs to be resolved at the federal level."

Earlier, Bryan candidly told the commission he was skeptical about its two-year study of the gaming industry.

"I would be less than candid if I did not tell you I was concerned about the genesis of this commission," Bryan said. "As each of you know, state and local government officials did not clamour for its creation -- rather it was the product of a national crusade.

"My fear was that my state's primary industry -- gaming -- the bedrock upon which our economic success has been built, would become a political football."

Bryan acknowledged he has been a critic of the commission.

"I do not apologize for that because I consider defending Nevada, when defending is necessary, to be my responsibility."

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., joined Bryan in urging the commission not to consider recommending federal regulations over the industry.

"I would venture to say there is no industry as highly regulated as the gaming industry in Nevada," Gibbons said. Let's be fair. Surely you see that it is highly unnecessary to impose additional federal regulations or taxes on the gaming industry."

Gibbons, who also has been an outspoken critic of the commission, suggested gaming has been taking some unwarranted shots in Washington.

"This is an industry that is extremely successful on a multitude of consumer, economic and employee-friendly issues," he said. "This is an industry that has the ability to succeed by adapting and improving itself as time goes by.

"It is no wonder that the gaming industry has been the focus of a slanderous campaign. Because it is this type of industry -- a successful industry -- which historically receives the greatest amount of criticism."

Tuesday, meanwhile, marked the first time that Reid and his defeated Republican challenger, Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., appeared together in public.

Ensign shook Reid's hand, as he sat down to give his remarks to the commission. The race remains in doubt as the trouble-plagued registrar of voters in Washoe County continues a recount there.

"I would be the first to tell you that there are some problems with this industry, as there are with all industries," Ensign told the commissioners.

He said gaming needs to do a better job of addressing its problems.

But he said the commission could do the nation a good service by getting a handle on Internet and Indian gaming.

"Internet gaming is exploding, and we as a government don't know what to do with it," Ensign said.

He also echoed the concerns of the rest of the congressional delegation about lax Indian gaming regulations.

In earlier panels, two unsuccessful candidates for governor this year raised concerns about the industry.

Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones talked about the social dangers of neighborhood, or convenience, gambling.

And state Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, called gaming a "parasitic business" that needs a host.

"If gaming does not have a host outside of its jurisdiction, it turns and devours its own community," he said.

Neal said gaming wields too much power over the people of Nevada and needs to be removed from the political process.

"The people should control gaming, and gaming should not control the people," he said.

The majority of those attending Tuesday's session were members of the Culinary Union wearing lime green T-shirts.

The union dominated the hour-long public comment period at the close of the session. Member after member told stories of how working in the casino industry has uplifted their lives.

The hearing, the last of six on the road for the commission, was to wrap up today with more panel discussions on gaming.

The commission will head back to Washington this week to focus its attention on writing a report of its findings. The report is due in June.