Columnist Jeff German: Casino industry streamlines its lobbying

Friday, Nov. 23, 2001 | 12:51 p.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

IF YOU LISTEN to the government watchdogs in Washington, you'll hear how effective the casino industry has been lobbying Congress in recent years.

Gaming has done a masterful job of exploiting campaign fund-raising loopholes to spread millions of dollars around Capitol Hill to protect its interests.

The industry's deep pockets have made life easy for American Gaming Association President Frank Fahrenkopf, its chief Washington lobbyist.

Fahrenkopf, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has been adept at getting the most out of the vast resources at his disposal.

Soon, he'll have one more asset in his political arsenal, which should make the industry an even more potent force on the Hill.

Wayne Mehl, gaming's most experienced and knowledgeable lobbyist, is moving over to the AGA from its sister organization, the Nevada Resort Association.

The NRA, the industry's local political arm, is not replacing Mehl, which means it officially is getting out of the lobbying business in Washington.

Mehl will work for Fahrenkopf and be the AGA's man on Nevada issues in the nation's capital, but his salary still will be paid by the NRA, and he'll also have to stay in touch with NRA President Bill Bible.

The transition, though maybe a bit confusing for Mehl, is intended to help the casino industry sharpen its political focus.

It's part of an overall reorganization under the regime of the new NRA chairman, Park Place Entertainment CEO Tom Gallagher, to streamline lobbying efforts in Washington and Nevada.

The plan is to give the industry the best bang for its buck and let it speak with one voice on issues affecting its economic well-being.

Even more significant changes are in the works for the NRA's lobbying campaign in Carson City. These changes will have an impact on its chief hired guns in Nevada -- Reno lawyer Harvey Whittemore and Las Vegas advertising executive Billy Vassiliadis.

In the near future, the NRA is expected to give Bible the green light to hire his own staff to do the brunt of the work in Carson City rather than assign that responsibility to high-priced consultants, who have other clients and mixed loyalties.

There still will be room, of course, for Whittemore and Vassiliadis on the team because they're seen as too valuable to the industry to cut loose. But they no longer will be running the show in Carson City.

The new arrangement will give the NRA the same kind of internal control over its legislative agenda in Nevada that the AGA has over its congressional lobbying in Washington.

The NRA also plans to become more involved in political fund-raising at the Nevada Legislature. It hopes to follow the AGA's model of coordinating all campaign contributions from its members through the organization.

This shift in focus isn't coming about overnight. It has been talked about for some time, primarily by MGM MIRAGE Chairman Terry Lanni, who has viewed the current NRA structure as nothing more than a duplication of the AGA.

When he ran MGM Grand Inc., Lanni was not an NRA member. And since MGM's merger with Mirage Resorts Inc. in 2000, Lanni has been reluctant to make a total commitment to the NRA, even though the former Mirage companies still are members. Lanni has been active in the AGA instead.

The NRA, meanwhile, has recognized the value of having Lanni, a former member of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, within its ranks. It sees MGM MIRAGE, one of Nevada's most influential corporations, as the key to ensuring its future.

By reshaping its organization to suit Lanni's tastes, the NRA seems to have won over the astute MGM MIRAGE boss.

And that should allow the casino industry to remain an effective lobbying force for years to come.