Hatch called crucial ally in betting battle

Thursday, March 8, 2001 | 11:42 a.m.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is being welcomed as a key ally in Nevada's fight to stop the NCAA's campaign to ban betting on college sports.

"He's willing to be very, very helpful to us," Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., told the Sun in a telephone interview from Washington Wednesday.

"A lot of people really respect Orrin Hatch."

Following a Capitol Hill meeting with top Harrah's Entertainment Inc. executives Wednesday, Hatch agreed to co-sponsor a bill by Ensign and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., calling for stepped-up Justice Department scrutiny of illegal sports betting across the country.

The bill was introduced last month to counter the NCAA's offensive against college wagering in Nevada.

There has been speculation that the NCAA's bill could be introduced during its well-publicized "March Madness" basketball tournament, which gets under way next Thursday.

Hatch, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday or this morning, is considered a crucial player in the high-stakes battle because he chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which likely will hear the Nevada delegation's bill.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a champion of the NCAA's cause, is said to be preparing to move the college betting measure through his Commerce Committee, setting up a potential political donnybrook between the two Republican stalwarts.

Ensign said Hatch told him on the Senate floor Wednesday night that he would be willing to help recruit other Republicans to co-sponsor the Nevada bill, which would force the NCAA to spend more resources fighting illegal gambling on its college campuses.

"It gives us a lot of momentum having someone as prominent as Orrin Hatch on our side," Ensign said. "I think we're really going to start working Republicans now."

Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, the industry's Washington lobby, called Hatch's backing a "significant signal to other members of Congress."

"We've been very busy in both houses trying to get Republicans and Democrats to join this piece of legislation, and I think a lot of people are going to be surprised when the final list comes out," Fahrenkopf said.

Fahrenkopf also hailed Ensign for playing an "instrumental role" in persuading Hatch to come on board.

Ensign said he quietly has been trying to build relationships with fellow Republicans, such as Hatch, since joining the Senate in January.

Hatch, not known for being a friend of the gaming industry, was among those targeted as potential supporters in the industry's massive lobbying effort on Capitol Hill during the past several weeks.

An unprecedented number of casino executives from Las Vegas have flocked to Washington to lobby for the Nevada bill.

"The leaders of the industry really have stepped up to the plate," Fahrenkopf said. "That's important because there are 535 members of Congress, and it puts a face on our industry."

Two weeks ago Fahrenkopf and MGM-MIRAGE Chairman Terry Lanni met with Hatch in Washington, and on Wednesday Harrah's Chairman Phil Satre and Senior Vice President Jan Laverty Jones spent 45 minutes talking to the Utah senator at his Capitol Hill office.

Industry executives also have been busy lobbying the House, where a companion illegal sports wagering bill has been introduced.

Reps. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., and Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., have been busy lining up supporters.

Gibbons has won over Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, and Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who heads the Education and Workforce Committee.

He also has set up a meeting next week with Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

And today the congressman's top aides were to meet with senior Justice Department officials in preparation for an upcoming Gibbons sit-down with Attorney General John Ashcroft on the subject of illegal betting in America.

Berkley has enlisted the support of more than two dozen Democrats, including several ranking members of her party, such as David Bonior and John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, Charles Rangel of New York and Martin Frost of Texas.

"We have a long way to go before we declare victory," Berkley said. "But we certainly have laid a foundation. We got out of the chute early, and we provided an alternative to the NCAA bill that makes sense."

Ensign also acknowledged the fight is far from over.

"We still have a very steep, uphill battle," he said. "I still believe we're right."