Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2002 | 10:43 a.m.
With $750,000, the gaming industry is publicly joining the battle against Yucca Mountain, as a showdown before Congress nears on the fate of a proposed nuclear waste dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
But in doing so, the industry will be campaigning against a dump that has broad support in many other states, including some that are home to casinos operated by Las Vegas gaming operators. For that reason, it's a battle that gaming is approaching with caution.
"We have a difficult task here because you'll find people who are normally our friends are not on this issue," said Frank Fahrenkopf, chief executive of the American Gaming Association. "We've got to walk a tightrope on this issue, and it's not going to be easy."
On Tuesday the Nevada Resort Association said it has established a $250,000 "seed fund" to back lobbying and legal efforts against Yucca Mountain. The AGA voted in December to raise $500,000 through increased dues for "contingency lobbying," and most of those efforts will go to the Yucca Mountain fight as well, Fahrenkopf said.
The gaming industry's work will supplement the state's $5.4 million fund to fight a repository. That money has been raised mostly through public monies.
Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno, said the gaming industry has a full slate of legislative priorities already and should be expected to have a bigger picture in mind.
"They have a lot of different battles to fight, and they probably should not be as vehement and willing to take this to the wall as much as (state officials) would," Eadington said. "I would also expect they won't carry it beyond reasonable gentlemanly strategies.
"You're up against significant opposition, and you're likely to lose. How much political and economic capital do you burn up in a lost cause?"
Yucca Mountain is far from the only issue concerning the gaming industry, which has been fighting for years to ward off federal oversight and restrictions.
Still looming is the NCAA-backed bill to ban all college sports betting in Nevada, an effort bitterly opposed by the state's casinos. Congress is also expected to consider several initiatives aimed at banning Internet gambling, though the industry has yet to come up with a cohesive position on these bills.
In the past, there have even been proposals to levy a federal tax against the gaming industry, though this issue has not emerged in several years.
The concern some industry officials have is fighting Yucca Mountain without losing support for their other issues.
Still, Yucca Mountain is still worth fighting against, a top Strip executive said.
"The gaming industry has a strong stake in Nevada's future, perhaps stronger than any other industry," said Tom Gallagher, chief executive of Park Place Entertainment Corp. and chairman of the NRA. "We (the NRA) will continue to do all we can to prevent Nevada from becoming the nation's nuclear dumping ground."
Gallagher said more would be contributed in the fight against Yucca Mountain by the state's casino operators, and he called on companies that do business with the gaming industry to contribute as well. But no one was willing to estimate how much the gaming industry was planning to contribute to the cause.
"We can't make a budget, because you don't know what twists and turns lie ahead," NRA President Bill Bible said.
While casinos are getting involved, they won't be taking the gloves off. For example, a politician's stance on the Yucca Mountain issue won't be used as a litmus test, Gallagher said.
Threatening to cut off political donations -- or to fund an opponent -- over a Yucca Mountain position "is the worst kind of lobbying," Gallagher said.
"We have supported political figures from all across the country," Gallagher said. "We're looking for them to keep an open mind on issues important to us."
But listening won't necessarily translate into support, another gaming industry executive acknowledged.
"Just because they're our friends doesn't mean they'll side with us," said Mandalay Resort Group Vice President Mike Sloan.
The NRA and AGA's lobbying efforts will focus on Congress, where a final battle is quickly nearing in the 19-year debate over Yucca Mountain. On Friday President Bush accepted Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's recommendation that the mountain be used to permanently store up to 77,000 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste.
Gov. Kenny Guinn can veto the move, and he's vowed to do so. But a majority vote of both the House of Representatives and the Senate would override this veto. The House is expected to do so easily; the Senate is far more uncertain.
Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate's Majority Whip, declined to estimate how many senators were prepared to vote against Yucca, but noted that just 35 out of 100 senators sided with Nevada the last time Yucca came up for a vote. Of that number, only two were Republicans.
"We'll do the best we can," Reid said. "(Sen.) John (Ensign, R-Nev.,) and I have a big hole we're trying to climb out of."
Having the support of the NRA and AGA will assist in that fight, Reid said.
"We need help lobbying (on Capitol Hill), and this is what this (the NRA fund) will allow us to do," Reid said. "This is a very important day. I've never been as proud of the gaming industry as I am today."
But for senators from states where nuclear waste is accumulating, siding with Nevada would be a difficult proposition at best, even if they've often aligned with the state on other issues. For that reason, the gaming industry plans to focus on the safety hazards of transporting nuclear waste across the country.
"We will stand on the issue of safety, and safety is an issue from state to state," said Phil Satre, chairman and chief executive of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. "We're involved with politicians in a lot of different states, and we will use these relationships to say to them, 'This (transporting nuclear waste) is a safety issue.' "
If Congress overrides Nevada's veto, the gaming industry warchest would then be used for the second prong of the state's anti-Yucca strategy -- delaying and possibly derailing Yucca Mountain under a flood of lawsuits. Optimism is running higher about Nevada's chances there, as state officials believe the federal government has not built sufficient scientific and environmental evidence to support Yucca Mountain.
"I think our case gets stronger and stronger the faster they try to ram this through," Guinn said.
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