Reid says Ex-Attorney General Reno was no help on NCAA gambling

Scott Sonner

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2001 | 3:12 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - The odds of Nevada's congressional delegation beating back a ban on college sports betting have improved thanks, in part, to Republicans, the Senate's second-ranking Democrat says.

"I think we have gained a little bit of ground," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the senior member of the state's delegation.

"We still have a real uphill battle," he said. "We probably have a 35 percent chance of prevailing now. Last year, it was 5 percent."

The election of Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and appointment of former Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft as attorney general both bode well for opponents of a proposal to end wagering on college games at sports books in Nevada, Reid said.

"Maybe we can get John Aschroft to do more than Janet Reno. Janet Reno was no help to us on gaming issues at all," Reid said.

Ensign should enjoy more access to Republican leaders in the Senate and ultimately the Bush White House, he said.

"He has some personal relationships with some of the people he served with in the House and he can do things with some of his people that I couldn't do," Reid said.

Ensign understands his effectiveness on the GOP side of the aisle will help decide the fate of the proposed ban.

"Harry certainly works the Democrats very well. Now it is up to me to sit down with Republicans," he said.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association and several high profile college coaches want legalized gambling stopped because they say it can place undue pressure on young athletes to influence the outcome of games.

The NCAA argues that outlawing bets on college sports in Nevada would make it harder for "campus bookies" to do business.

William Saum, the NCAA's director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities, is scheduled to testify Friday before a state legislative panel in Carson City.

President Bush has not commented specifically on the ban, but Nevada Republicans consider him a friend on the issue based on his staunch defense of state's rights.

"In my discussions with then Gov. Bush when he was campaigning, he was a very firm believer that it was a state's rights issue and that gaming should be left to a state's individual preference," Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said.

Nevertheless, Ensign said he's made no attempt to line up any formal opposition from the White House.

"Certainly it is not anything that is even on their radar screen. I'd just as soon keep it below their radar, then later if we need to go to them, we can," Ensign said.

"It's really only on the radar screen of a few people. That's why we have to keep it from coming up (for a vote). If it comes up, we probably lose the vote. But very few people are passionate about this thing."

Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and John McCain, R-Ariz., first introduced legislation a year ago targeting legal betting in Nevada. The bill stalled in committee, but they plan to reintroduce it this year, perhaps as early as this month.

Nevada lawmakers already have made one legislative move to blunt the bill, introducing their own measure that would stiffen penalties and step up enforcement of gambling prohibitions outside of Nevada, especially on college campuses.

The Nevada delegation maintains the real problem is illegal gambling on college campuses, not legal gambling in Nevada sports books.

"Last year, the delegation had to play defense. This year, we are playing offense," Gibbons said.

Reid said he has lined up some influential Democrats to back their bill, including Montana Sen. Max Baucus, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.

"We have some powerful sponsors who are going to help us," he said.

Staff members for Gibbons and Ashcroft are meeting next week to arrange a meeting between Gibbons and Ashcroft on the matter.

Gibbons said one of the biggest hurdles is the list of popular coaches backing the gambling ban, including former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith.

"The NCAA has been able to sort of arm-twist these coaches into being supporters of the legislation that attacks Nevada," he said.

"This is an issue that does not attract more or less support based on one's political philosophy. It is an emotional issue," Gibbons said.

But he says as time passes, there is increasing scrutiny of the effort. He pointed to new opposition from conservative columnist George Will.

"We have a gift of time here and education becomes one of the important tools that we are trying to take advantage of," he said.

Gibbons said McCain might have lost some of his interest in the measure now that he's no longer running for president and is devoting most of his energy to campaign reform.

"Hopefully McCain will not pursue this issue as actively as he did last time," Gibbons said. "He is certainly going to have a number of issues that are more important than attacking Nevada."