Texas governor’s anti-gaming talks tests Nevada support

Friday, March 12, 1999 | 11:15 a.m.

Tough anti-gambling rhetoric from Texas Gov. George W. Bush threatens to undermine support in Nevada for his expected presidential bid.

Both Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, who has committed to chairing Bush's Nevada campaign, and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., who has been asked to serve on his national campaign committee, said Thursday they were concerned about the Texas governor's remarks.

Bush, who announced the creation of a presidential exploratory committee this week, lambasted "casino-style gambling" in a recent governor's task-force report on the extent of illegal gambling in Texas.

On the cover of the report, which was submitted in December, the governor is quoted as saying: "To allow casino-style gambling to continue and spread in places where children play not only offends Texans who have not approved casino-style gambling in our state, but it also sends a terrible message to our children that gambling is OK.

"Casino gambling is not OK. It has ruined the lives of too many adults, and it can do the same thing to our children."

A similar quote and additional tough talk was attributed to Bush in a Sept. 25, 1997, news release announcing the creation of the 12-member governor's task force, which was aimed at stopping the spread of slot machines in the state.

Bush, for example, said: "Texans do not want our neighborhood shopping centers to resemble Las Vegas casinos."

The task force's 23-page report itself is sprinkled with anti-gaming rhetoric when pointing out how legalized gambling has spread in Texas in the form of pari-mutuel wagering, charitable bingo and a state-run lottery.

"The expansion of legalized gambling in Texas reflects a national trend toward accepting gambling as a revenue generator for states rather than treating it as a crime," it said. "The proponents of gambling have largely succeeded in persuading the broader culture to accept gambling as a legitimate form of entertainment rather than a vice."

The report recommended stricter state laws against gambling and urged the Texas Legislature to continue to resist efforts to legalize casino-style gambling.

Bush spokeswoman Linda Edwards said the governor was "speaking in a Texas context."

"As governor of Texas, his job has been to enforce the laws of Texas," Edwards said. "Gov. Bush is against casino gambling in Texas because it is illegal here, and Texans don't want their neighborhood shopping centers to resemble gambling casinos."

Guinn said Thursday he expects to continue backing Bush's bid for the presidency but would talk to him about his gambling remarks. "I learned along time ago that I don't have a litmus test on any one issue for anybody," Guinn said.

The governor, however, added: "If that's his position and it continues to be his position, then certainly he and I would be on opposite ends of that spectrum."

Gibbons, who has not committed to supporting Bush yet, said programs have been enacted in Nevada to protect families and children from the ill effects of gambling.

"Like all candidates running for president, it is important that Mr. Bush understand the issues that face Nevada on the federal level," Gibbons said. "While I am concerned about his comments on gaming in his report, I am encouraged that he has fought illegal gaming on the state level.

"Should he decide to run for president, it is my hope that we can educate Gov. Bush on gaming issues when he visits Nevada. Hopefully we can help him formulate a positive opinion of Nevada's dynamic gaming industry."

Sig Rogich, another Las Vegas political figure with ties to Bush, said he wasn't concerned about the Texas governor's remarks.

"He has always made it clear to me that he thinks Las Vegas is the perfect place for gaming," said Rogich, who has agreed to serve as a consultant in Bush's presidential campaign. "He acknowledges our industry, and his comments are a reflection of illegal-gaming problems in Texas."

Rogich, who worked in the White House for Bush's father, former President George Bush, said he was encouraged that the younger Bush has taken a strong stand against the spread of unregulated Indian gaming in his state.

"Maybe we'll be lucky enough to have a president who uses his popularity to get Congress to change the laws with respect to Indian gaming so that there's a level playing field," Rogich said.

But Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the Washington-based American Gaming Association, said he "totally disagreed" with Bush's position on casino-style gambling.

"If that quote is an accurate quote, it's obvious that the governor has been provided inaccurate data and statistics by gaming opponents," Fahrenkopf, a former chairman of the National Republican Committee, said.

At the same time, Fahrenkopf added: "It's our view that under the 10th Amendment each state has the right to decide what type of gaming they want to legalize. So Texans have the right to decide whether they want to limit gaming to a lottery and pari-mutuel wagering and not have casino gaming, just as Nevada has chosen under its constitution not to allow lotteries."