Bryan: College sports betting doomed

Monday, Aug. 28, 2000 | 11:40 a.m.

By this time next year it will probably be impossible to bet on college sports in Nevada casinos.

That's the opinion of Sen. Richard Bryan, Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Brian Sandoval and gaming attorney Anthony Cabot, who said they expect Congress to pass a bill outlawing college sports betting in its next session.

The three made their comments Saturday at the Stardust during a football betting symposium organized by the Vegas Insider website.

It was the first time three of the gaming arena's heaviest hitters stepped up, one after the other, to offer such a gloomy forecast for Nevada sports books and betting enthusiasts.

"The merits are on our side," Bryan, D-Nev., said. "But this bill, I regret to say, is not about reason. It's about emotion.

"We can win this year, but the real challenge will come next year. If the bill is introduced early (in the next congressional session), then in my view, unfortunately, it could be extraordinarily difficult to contain."

Bryan has led the charge against the bill, which would ban betting on college sports and has Arizona Sen. John McCain as its most visible proponent. McCain declined Vegas Insider's invitation to appear on Saturday's panel. "I call the nuclear waste legislation 'Screw Nevada,' " Bryan said. "And I call this bill 'Screw Nevada II.'

"Illegal gambling on college campuses is a legitimate problem, but this bill does nothing to prevent that. In my mind, it will exacerbate it."

Sandoval said he encountered a hostile attitude from McCain and other anti-sports betting officials while testifying before a Senate committee in Washington last March.

"The bill will go nowhere in Congress this session," Sandoval said. "But it will probably be reintroduced, and I am not confident in our chances of defeating this legislation."

Cabot, a Las Vegas attorney and expert on Internet gambling, was even more emphatic.

"This bill is going to be passed," Cabot said. "And it's going to be passed because of simple politics.

"The problem is that politicians look to see what's most likely going to get them re-elected, and they end up playing to the conservative right. That's the reason this bill is going to get passed next session."

Stardust race and sports director Joe Lupo, another panel member, said college sports wagering makes up 30 to 40 percent of his book's handle. Lupo said the Stardust would be forced to scale back its sports book operations if college betting were outlawed.

"I (would have to) ask my superiors to learn more about slot machines," Lupo said. His remark drew derisive laughter from the crowd of several hundred sophisticated gamblers, who view slots the way wine connoisseurs view Ripple.

Bryan suggested college sports bettors will simply take their action from regulated books such as the Stardust's to "underground" joints once the bill is approved.

"It's an illegal bookie's dream," Bryan said.