Editorial: Speech to gamers made a good point

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2002 | 8:45 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman had the full attention of gaming executives Monday and he didn't flinch in reiterating what has become a recurrent theme for him, that the hotel-casinos have abysmal records when it comes to supporting community initiatives. Goodman's style, unfortunately, is to exaggerate when making a point and he did so again during his keynote address before the American Gaming Summit at the Bellagio. His joking references to the organized crime days when casinos were run by "the best guys in the world" could lead people to dismiss everything he said. But that would be a mistake.

We hope the Nevada Resort Association takes seriously Goodman's overall point that the city needs help from its dominant industry when going up against such problems as homelessness, redevelopment and the federal government's plan to dump its nuclear waste here in Southern Nevada. True enough, every hotel-casino in the city can point to individual acts of support. But what is lacking is a cooperative commitment to support programs that will make a better city. If the hotels agree they don't want a big-league professional sports team here, fine. But that's just one issue out of dozens that could use their support. Goodman says he's waiting for casino executives to call him with pledges of support. Let's hope they call soon.