Bill limiting kids’ access to arcades comes under fire

Scott Reeder

Wednesday, April 7, 1999 | 10:33 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- With the memory of Sherrice Iverson's death still fresh, the Legislature is considering a bill that would restrict children's access to video-game arcades at night.

Seven-year-old Iverson was killed in 1997 in a restroom of the Primm Valley hotel-casino, 45 miles south of Las Vegas, after she had been playing in the hotel's game room late into the night while her father gambled in the casino. Jeremy Strohmeyer is serving a life sentence for the murder.

"The requirements of Senate Bill 513 will reduce the chances that another child will be harmed in a casino," Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, who is sponsoring the legislation, said in a prepared statement.

But several members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were skeptical of Del Papa's claim when it was presented to them Tuesday.

"This is nothing more than 'feel good' legislation," Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, said. "It will do absolutely nothing to protect our children. If anything it could develop a false sense of security. ... Government can't do everything. Where are these kids' parents? Government can't be Big Brother, Big Mother, Big Father."

The proposed bill would not allow children to be left alone in a game room on a school night between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. On Friday and Saturday nights, they would not be allowed in the rooms between midnight and 5 a.m.

But there are plenty of exceptions to the bill.

For example, the bill allows children to be in the game rooms during those hours if a parent is registered as a hotel guest, if the child is with someone older than 21 or if the child is from another state.

"This bill wouldn't even have protected Sherrice Iverson because she was from California," James said. "This bill would be absolutely unenforceable. How is someone supposed to know whether the child has a parent staying at the hotel or if he is from another state?"

Anne Cathcart, a special assistant to the attorney general, said those exemptions were placed in the bill so that it is more acceptable to the gaming industry. She added the bill is modeled after an existing Clark County ordinance, which has similar exemptions.

The bill clearly does have the potential of protecting children, Cathcart said, because it also calls for surveillance cameras or security guards to be placed in game rooms to ensure the safety of children.

"No one wants to see children get hurt," said Doug Minter, owner of Tip Top Amusement in Carson City. "But this bill is too restrictive and not enforceable."

James, who is chairman of the committee added, "I wouldn't bet that this will ever get out of committee."