Friday, Dec. 27, 2002 | 10:25 a.m.
LINCOLN, Neb. -- There seems to be less debate these days about whether Nebraska should allow casino gambling and more talk about where such gaming will take place.
Some say casinos should be built only in Omaha, across the river from the riverboats that offer gambling in Iowa.
Others say the Nebraska should allow its four Indian tribes to have casinos, something they have been fighting to get for years.
Still others say casino-style gambling should be allowed anywhere -- from high-roller casinos to local bars.
And Nebraska's lawmakers seem just as split on the issue.
In a pre-session survey by The Associated Press, 11 state senators said Nebraska should allow casino gambling, while 11 more said they were leaning that way on the issue.
Fourteen said such gambling should not be allowed and three said they were leaning toward opposing any move allowing casinos.
Forty-eight of 49 lawmakers responded to the survey. However, nine did not answer a question about whether casino gambling should be allowed in Nebraska.
Many senators, however, said the question should be decided by voters.
"The Legislature should put this issue on the ballot," said Sen. Pat Bourne of Omaha.
A group called Nebraskans for Local Control gathered 178,000 signatures to put a video-slots initiative on the election ballot last month, but opponents successfully challenged the measure's constitutionality and it did not go before voters.
The proposed constitutional amendment would have allowed slot machines in bars, restaurants, race tracks and keno parlors, as well as in designated spots within 20 miles of communities in neighboring states with video gambling.
Some lawmakers believe that the video-slots initiative would have gone too far, potentially allowing slot machines in nearly every community in the state.
"Casino gambling, if regulated and taxed by the state, would be preferable to what the gambling petition would have done," said Sen. Carol Hudkins of Malcolm.
Gov. Mike Johanns has opposed expanded gambling. However, he has said if a measure to allow casino gambling passes, he would like to see the money go toward a statewide purpose, such as boosting teacher pay.
He has said he would be willing to work with the Legislature on crafting a reasonable casino gambling measure to put before voters in 2004.
In mid-December, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce endorsed efforts to get the Legislature to authorize expanded gambling in Nebraska. The chamber's board passed a resolution saying it would support casino gambling in Nebraska, as long as it was limited to "high-quality destination casinos" to attract outside visitors, said chamber President Louis Burgher.
The resolution also urged lawmakers to not earmark any gambling revenue for tax relief or as a general-fund revenue source, but rather put the money in a trust fund and use it for economic development.
The chamber previously opposed expanding gambling beyond the state-run lottery, local keno lotteries and horse racing. But the chamber's membership began showing interest in having casino gambling, something that has been offered across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, since 1989.
A single casino in Omaha would add at least 1,008 jobs paying $17.5 million in additional wages, according to a recent study conducted by Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss for the Omaha chamber. An additional $58.4 million in sales would be generated in the metropolitan area, the study said.
If taxed at the level of the Iowa casinos, Goss estimated the state would receive between $19.9 million and $29.2 million in new tax revenue a year from an Omaha casino, with local governments getting $2.4 million to $3.6 million.
Lincoln Sen. DiAnna Schimek, who for years has tried to get casino gambling legalized on the state's Indian reservations, said she plans to introduce legislation in January that would allow expanded gambling.
Despite years of effort, Nebraska's four tribes have failed to persuade the state to negotiate a gambling compact with them. The tribes also failed to persuade the Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to allow tribal casinos.
The Santee Sioux Tribe has been running a small casino on its reservation in northeast Nebraska for years -- which has been the subject of a six-year court battle that has seen millions in fines levied against it and tribal leaders threatened with jail.
The tribes' chances of winning approval for casinos would be greater with the Omaha business community supporting casino gambling, said Santee tribal Chairman Roger Trudell.
The video-slots petition effort got the attention of lawmakers.
"I am opposed to expanded gambling. However, people apparently want some form of expansion, and I believe the Legislature should thus respond," said Sen. Roger Wehrbein of Plattsmouth.
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