Columnist Dean Juipe: It’s time for Nevada to secede

Dean Juipe

Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 | 10:27 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

First and foremost there's bewilderment.

Why is the federal government trying to eliminate legalized sports wagering in Nevada?

And how is it that the feds even have that authority? Whatever happened to states' rights, anyhow?

But beyond those confusing issues, at the grass-roots level -- which is to say, within the state's sports books -- there is also anger, and, if the indicators are right, a growing acceptance that the day will come when the books are closed and every sports bet placed in America will be handled by those clandestine souls known as illegal bookies.

As trends go, it's a disarming one: bewilderment, followed by anger, followed by acceptance.

So what's an independent-minded state to do, particularly if it wants to interrupt and avoid the latter, mellow mind-set?

Secede, that's what.

This may have always been true in Nevada but it's more true today than ever: If put to a yea or nay vote of the populace, more people than not would opt for withdrawing from the union.

Federal intervention has never been overly welcomed here anyhow, and the feds' recent intrusions -- the Jarbidge dispute near Elko; the endless quest to ship nuclear waste here; the sports-wagering conundrum -- have stretched the patience of the typical Nevadan even further. If there is a breaking point, we might soon be at it.

Why not sever our ties with Washington and become an enclave, an independent principality? It works well under similar circumstances for Monaco.

As its own country, Nevada -- despite being landlocked -- could deal with its rural issues as it sees fit; it could receive gigantic sums of money from the United States in exchange for allowing nuclear waste to be buried here, if it were so inclined; and it could keep the sports books open and preserve a portion of every major casino's identity.

In short, it could put some teeth in its "Live Free or Die" battle cry.

Credit the state's elected representatives with maintaining a good fight on the sports-wagering front, but even their best efforts may not be enough to prevent passage of a bill that has a dumbfounding motive. While it's believed the bill in its present form -- which targets betting on collegiate sports -- will be stalled this session, it is widely expected to come to a vote in 2001 and pass and become law.

If the scenario plays out that way, a similar bill eliminating betting on professional sports will be just around the corner. The anti-gaming momentum -- fueled by outsiders' shortsightedness as well as their jealousy toward Nevada as much as anything else -- could make the three-team parlay extinct.

Nevada shouldn't allow itself to be pushed around like this.

It is taking a beating in Washington under the misguided impression that eliminating legal wagering will eliminate all wagering, when, in fact, the illegal bookies will have a field day after the legal books are closed. Absolutely nothing will be gained by forcing Caesars Palace and the MGM Grand and the rest of the state's casinos to convert their sports books into bingo parlors.

They're pushing us into a corner in D.C. and it's time to respond. It's time for a little vigilance.

It's time to go our own way.