Final report on gaming divides fed commission

Wednesday, June 2, 1999 | 11:34 a.m.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The National Gambling Impact Study Commission convened its last meeting today amid concerns the final draft of its report isn't kind to the casino industry.

The nine-member panel, divided along pro- and anti-gaming lines for most of its two-year existence, plans to deliver its report to Congress, the president and the nation's governors on June 18.

Casino leaders and commissioners aligned with the gaming industry today expressed strong reservations about the final draft.

On the first page of the executive summary, for example, video poker is referred to as "video crack" that has cropped up on main streets across the country.

"It is not a balanced report right now," said Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association. "It's still an anti-gaming document."

Fahrenkopf said the draft is replete with inaccuracies about the industry, an opinion shared by Mirage Resorts Vice President Alan Feldman.

"The report as it stands at this moment is riddled with misstatements of fact, with quotes from people who have no standing," Feldman said."It's very clear that the draft in its current form is intended to be used as a political weapon in the future ... by anyone who wants to dismantle gambling"

Commissioner Bill Bible, a gaming ally on the panel, said he was pleased overall with the "well-reasoned recommendations" the panel has proposed.

"But I'm concerned that the report's language is overly negative towards the gambling industry," Bible added. "It completely fails to acknowledge that 95 (percent) to 97 percent of Americans gamble responsibly as a form of entertainment and have no problems."

Bible, retired chairman of Nevada's Gaming Control Board and one of the world's experts on regulating the casino industry, said this week's meeting, which concludes today, will be "pivotal" as the federal commission gets ready to give the nation its assessment of the state of legalized gambling in America.

Commissioners today began discussing the final version of the report before sending it off to the printer next week.

Casino leaders said they hoped the language could be changed to make it more balanced toward the industry.

One example of inaccurate information in the report occurs when it is explained that slot machines can be found all over Nevada, including airports and bathrooms. While it 's true slot machines are in airports, they are not in public bathrooms.

The draft correctly points out that effective regulation and the stepped-up role of Wall Street in the gambling industry have "all but eliminated" organized crime's influence in casinos in America. But it fails to single out Las Vegas for its dramatic accomplishments in that endeavor the past two decades.

The draft makes a greater effort to include the economic benefits that gambling brings to a community. But again, the language is not good enough for Commissioner John Wilhelm, who lectured the commission's staff in April for ignoring those benefits when putting together an earlier version of the report.

Wilhelm, international president of the Culinary Union, which represents Las Vegas casino workers, said Tuesday he has concerns that the final draft still doesn't address the mountain of evidence about economic benefits the commission obtained at public hearings during its travels across the country.

The majority of the panel's recommendations, such as a call for tougher regulations on Indian gaming and a ban on Internet gambling, favor the industry. But they make it clear gaming needs to do a better job of addressing and heightening awareness about problem gamblers.

Of concern to the industry is a recommendation calling for communities across the country to take a step back and consider a "moratorium" on the expansion of gambling.

The panel also has voted to recommend a sports betting ban on college athletics, a proposal that if enacted by Congress could have a dramatic effect on Nevada's $2.3 billion-a-year sports wagering industry.

Still to be decided this week is a recommendation urging states to prohibit the casino industry from contributing to local and state political campaigns similar to what is done in New Jersey. Commissioner Terry Lanni, chairman of MGM Grand Inc., had said he might support that proposal.

Commissioners began debating a modified version of that proposal today, but tabled the discussion after concerns were raised about the proposal by several commissioners, including Lanni.