Memo may aid Ensign in quarrel with McCain

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, May 17, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., hopes a newly obtained memo will help settle a nasty tiff with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

McCain and Ensign have been dueling over a bill that would ban betting on college sports in Nevada sports books. The Commerce Committee passed the bill this month, and Chairman McCain hopes the full Senate will pass it soon.

But inside that larger debate is a spitting match between the two Western senators over whether Nevada casinos effectively police game-fixing in America. Ensign said they do.

But McCain said tips from Nevada sports books had never led authorities to arrest an athlete for game-fixing.

The argument spilled into the public hearing April 26 on the betting ban-bill when Ensign and McCain bickered over whether information provided by Nevada sports books led to a game-fixing bust at Arizona State University in 1994.

Ensign quoted an FBI agent who credited Las Vegas books for notifying authorities about unusual betting patterns on ASU games.

But McCain said the case broke open only after authorities arrested someone on an unrelated theft charge and that person spilled details about game-fixing by ASU player Stevin "Hedake" Smith.

McCain was backed by testimony from a Sports Illustrated reporter who testified last year that the blabbing informant exposed the scheme, not Nevada bookies.

"There was no uncovering of this scandal at ASU by any gaming authority in the state of Nevada," McCain said last month. "The Nevada Gaming Commission or anyone else did not uncover or bring charges until the arrest of a (Smith) confederate," McCain said.

At a follow-up hearing May 3, Ensign needled McCain, who again insisted he was right.

So Ensign dug up more research.

Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander sent Ensign a May 8 Control Board interoffice memo describing how the Horseshoe Race and Sports Book in March 1994 tipped the Control Board about unusual betting on a Washington University-Arizona State basketball game. Control Board agents analyzed irregular betting on Arizona State at several casinos, and identified suspect bettors, the memo said.

The Control Board tipped Arizona law enforcement and the FBI.

The control board then continued investigations of betting on other ASU games as it assisted the authorities with their game-fixing investigation, the memo said.

"Between what the FBI agent said and this (memo) it becomes very clear that without Nevada being involved, the case would not have been solved," Ensign said.

McCain hasn't seen the memo, aides said Wednesday. One aide, who declined to be named, said McCain does not deny the Control Board knew something was wrong and tipped authorities. "Sen. McCain's point was that the arrest of Hedake Smith was not a consequence of that," she said.

Ensign said he would submit the memo to the official Congressional Record.

"We will bring it up again if it comes to the floor," Ensign said. "An important part of our argument is that Nevada books have a vested interest in making sure there is no point-shaving."