Columnist Jeff German: Gamers getting intense on Hill

Friday, March 9, 2001 | 4:02 a.m.

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. He can be reached at (702) 259-4067 or by e-mail at german@lasvegassun.com

THE CASINO industry, bent on snuffing out the NCAA's high-powered campaign to ban betting on college sports, is putting a full-court press on Capitol Hill.

In what many call an unparalleled show of force, the industry has launched a massive lobbying effort in Washington to woo members of Congress to its side.

Since the new session opened in January, a steady stream of gaming's brightest executives -- people like MGM-MIRAGE Chairman Terry Lanni and Harrah's Entertainment boss Phil Satre -- have showed up on the doorsteps of influential lawmakers to make their pitch.

"It's really miraculous," says one veteran casino lobbyist. "I haven't seen the industry this charged up about anything like this before."

Wayne Mehl, a lobbyist for the Nevada Resort Association, says he has never witnessed such an intense political effort in his 20 years on the Hill.

"The industry is maturing," he says. "It understands that this issue is important enough to make personal calls."

The new strategy has not gone unnoticed by gambling critics.

"This unprecedented muscle being applied on this issue is becoming the poster boy for why we need campaign reform," says the Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling.

Much of the credit for pushing the casino industry into its campaign of personal politics is being given to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who doesn't share Grey's opinion. The idea was hatched at a rare summit Reid held with top casino executives in December.

"The decision was made that they were going to have to come back here and meet face-to-face with members of Congress," Reid says. "And they've done a great job. Now we can see light at the end of the tunnel."

Not since the 1995 push to derail the Clinton administration's proposal for a 4 percent national gaming tax has the industry mounted such a furious assault in Washington. The American Gaming Association, the industry's chief lobby, was born out of that effort.

AGA President Frank Fahrenkopf likes the new lobbying approach.

"When we bring back a Terry Lanni or a Phil Satre, and they talk about what contribution their companies are making by way of jobs in a particular congressional district, it makes it a more personal message," Fahrenkopf says.

Last week, the strategy paid off in a big way, when Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, agreed to co-sponsor a bill calling for stepped-up Justice Department scrutiny of illegal sports betting in America. Hatch was won over after a 45-minute meeting on the Hill with Satre.

The bill, which forces the NCAA to pay more attention to betting on college campuses, was introduced by Nevada's congressional delegation to counter the NCAA's offensive.

Reid praises Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., for easing the way for Hatch to join forces with Nevada lawmakers.

"John has done a really good job of arranging meetings and getting these people to sit down and talk," Reid says. "John and I are surprising each other. We have a relationship that is very, very strong."

What also remains strong is the casino industry's ability to spread around money in Washington.

Two weeks ago, in the middle of the NCAA battle, the industry contributed $1.4 million to the Republican Governors Association at a heavyweight dinner in Washington honoring Vice President Dick Cheney. Lanni co-chaired the event.

"They're better off not drawing attention to themselves," Grey says. "They have a nice scam going. They shouldn't allow the nation to see all of the money and muscle they have to protect."

No one ever said a full-court press was a cheap strategy.