Columnist Jeff German: Casinos flip-flop on Indian gambling

Sunday, Jan. 23, 2000 | 9:07 a.m.

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. Reach him at german@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4067.

It was amusing to hear former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones extol the virtues of Indian gambling in California last week as the spokeswoman for Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

Harrah's had just announced it was following Station Casinos Inc. into the rapidly expanding gaming market on California reservations. The Strip company reported that it had struck a deal to develop a $100 million casino near San Diego with the Rincon San Luiseno Band of Mission Indians.

Jones predicted on the evening news that the spread of Indian gambling in Southern California would have little impact on Las Vegas, which relies heavily on tourists from that state to fill its casinos.

To paraphrase her remarks, Las Vegas has become a total destination stop and doesn't need to worry about the burgeoning grind joints of the California tribes.

One would have been hard-pressed to hear Jones make those remarks a year ago while she still was mayor.

Some financial experts have predicted the city could lose as much as $600 million a year once Indian gaming moves into high gear across the border. Casinos in Northern Nevada, where there is less growth, are expected to be hit hard, too.

The Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the Illinois-based National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, says it's a "no-brainer" for him to conclude that Las Vegas will suffer heavy losses.

"If 30 percent of your market comes from a certain destination and they can get the same product where they're at, unless human nature changes, they're going to stay home," Grey says.

In reality, you probably can't blame Jones for preaching the merits of Indian gaming. Jones, after all, is getting big bucks to speak those words on behalf of Harrah's, a company that has been partners with Native Americans in other states.

In many ways, her comments are typical of the majority of the industry these days. After pouring $22 million into the failed campaign to defeat Proposition 5, the California initiative that gave tribes the right to expand their gambling operations, Nevada casinos have done an about-face. They have become born-again Indian gambling advocates.

"If you can't beat them, join them," one casino executive says. "The Indians showed us they had superior firepower."

A new Indian gambling initiative in Californian goes to the voters in March, and once more it's expected to pass. This time Nevada casinos haven't spent a dime fighting it.

In anticipation of its passage, several casino companies now are said to be looking to negotiate their own deals with the Indians. To these firms, joining forces with their once-archenemies has become a matter of survival in the new millennium.

Mirage Resorts Inc., which spent the most of any company in the fight, is rumored to be the next to fall in line. Last September, you may recall, Mirage Resorts boss Steve Wynn put the word out that he was interested in the tribal gaming market in California.

Grey says he's not surprised to see the turnaround.

"These are bottom-line people," he says. "They have no allegiance to anyone. What's theirs is theirs and what's yours is negotiable. And that's what the city of Las Vegas and Nevada are finding out." *

On another front, Grey says he's willing to bet everything on the National Collegiate Athletic Association in its fight in Washington to ban wagering on college sports.

"The odds ought to heavily favor the NCAA on this one," Grey says. "The casinos won't be able to use their muscle this time."

Industry lobbyists, he says, will find it difficult to persuade members of Congress to side with them over university presidents, prominent sports figures and students victimized by gambling.

Casino operatives have been digging in for this week's battle over the betting ban, which is aimed at Nevada casinos.

Grey says the NCAA will bring out the heavy artillery at Wednesday's news conference announcing the introduction of the wagering bill. Some big-time names in college sports, he says, should be on hand.

It appears that Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the Washington-based American Gaming Association, will have his hands full this week.