NCAA stonewalls gaming panel

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2000 | 11:20 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The NCAA thumbed its nose again at the Nevada Gaming Commission and its efforts to tighten regulation on sports betting.

NCAA President Cedric Dempsey, in a letter to the commission, turned down the invitation to attend the commission's Wednesday meeting and he served notice he will boycott the Jan. 25 meeting of the commission where the regulations will be adopted.

The NCAA is pursuing efforts in Congress to outlaw legal betting in Nevada on collegiate sports, and Dempsey said in a faxed letter to Gaming Commission Chairman Brian Sandoval, "... we remained convinced that illegal sports wagering on college sports cannot be effectively addressed as long as the activity remains legal in Nevada."

The stonewalling by the NCAA irked the commission, whose members called the organization "intractable" and "illogical."

Sandoval said the NCAA has yet to present any evidence that links Nevada's sport betting with what the NCAA views as corruption in college sports. The "real predators," Sandoval said, were the illegal bookmakers on college campuses, not the legal betting parlors in Nevada.

He said he had hoped for "some significant comment" on the regulation but that, "We get nothing but silence."

Commissioner Sue Wagner of Reno said the NCAA "has become such a large bureaucracy."

"Many people who are under their authority ... are speaking out against them," Wagner said. She referred to a newspaper story in which coaches have criticized the organization that rules over collegiate sports.

This was the second time the NCAA refused an invitation to show up and discuss the problems of sports betting.

This was the fourth hearing on the regulations that will prohibit betting on high school and Olympic events, ban coaches and team members from betting on games, expand the "Black Book" to exclude unsavory individuals from sports betting centers, and increase the reporting to authorities of suspicious wagers and permitting betting on UNLV and UNR games.

Sandoval said he was "disappointed" at the response of the NCAA to his invitation. Wagner suggested some more pressure be put on the NCAA but Sandoval said he didn't know what else he could do. He said he will re-issue his invitation.

Dempsey told the commission that he would "be pleased to meet with you" after the regulation is adopted, to talk about how the commission can help in addressing illegal sports wagering. Dempsey referred Sandoval to William S. Saum, director of agent, gambling and amateur activities for the NCAA, to schedule a meeting.

Commissioner Augie Gurrola called the NCAA "intractable." Commissioner Arthur Marshall said, "It's evident they don't want to meet with us." Wagner said, "Clearly, they have a lack of interest in working with us."

In his letter, Dempsey said, "... it is important to note from the onset that the NCAA opposes all forms of gambling on collegiate athletics, whether done legally in the sports books of Nevada or illegally elsewhere."

The proposed state regulations were drafted in an attempt to persuade Congress not to pass the law banning college betting in Nevada, the only state in the nation to permit it.

Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the National Gaming Association, has said it will be an uphill battle to stop the bill in Congress to outlaw all wagering on intercollegiate sports.

In other business, the commission approved the application of Marvin Lipschultz to run 90 slot machines at Howard Johnson's on Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas. Lipschultz said he has "great confidence" he can turn around the casino, which has been a losing business.

He said he envisions a 24-story hotel and time-sharing operation at the property in the future.

Also, the commission denied the application of Judah Hertz for a license at the Flamingo Hilton, Sands Regent and Comstock, all in Reno. Hertz, a Southern California businessman, was turned down on grounds he had ties to organized crime, Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss and reported international drug smuggler Jacob Orgad.

Hertz did not show up at either the meeting of the Gaming Control Board or the commission.