Lawmaker maps plans should lottery be approved

Erin Neff

Friday, June 1, 2001 | 10:22 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Although residents would have to wait four years to play a state-approved lottery, Assemblywoman Kathy McClain has some ideas on how to set it up.

McClain, D-Las Vegas, sponsored Assembly Joint Resolution 11 to amend the Nevada Constitution to allow a lottery. This week, during a hearing on the measure in the Senate's Government Affairs Committee, McClain estimated the state could dole out $65 million annually to education and senior citizen issues if the lottery passes.

AJR 11 would have to be approved this session and again in 2003 before voters in 2004 got a chance to decide whether to allow a lottery. McClain said she is already thinking up ways to implement the lottery because she believes it's a sure bet to pass at the polls.

"I have no doubt they would approve it," McClain said.

Past attempts to create a state-run lottery in Nevada have run into staunch opposition from the gaming industry. But McClain said she hasn't heard one peep from gamers since sponsoring the legislation.

"I don't think they see it as a threat anymore," McClain said.

McClain said she hasn't heard any concerns about social problems created when low-income residents play the lottery.

"In Nevada they already have ample opportunity to blow a paycheck if that's what they want to do," McClain said.

McClain envisions setting up a lottery by depositing 50 percent of the net proceeds into a trust fund for 20 years. That money, plus the interest on it, would be used as a safeguard in the event the lottery runs into financial trouble. The remaining 50 percent of net proceeds would be available for distribution by the state to education and senior citizen programs.

McClain estimates that if each Nevada resident purchases 10 tickets at $1 a piece each year, the lottery would generate $307 million. She did not include tourists in her calculations.

Assuming that 55 percent of the money is paid out in prizes, that leaves $130 million annually for both the trust fund and the school/senior citizen programs.

"I don't think those numbers are too pie in the sky," McClain said. McClain told the Senate committee she has already received e-mail from the director of the Powerball lottery, but has not pursued joining that lottery because Nevada is still so many years away from implementing such a game. The Senate committee has not yet taken action on the resolution.