Las Vegas is no place to dodge limelight

By Ed Koch

Friday, Sept. 3, 2004 | 11:10 a.m.

What happens in Las Vegas does not always stay in Las Vegas; ask any politician in the public's eye.

What happens in Vegas is broadcast.

Numerous news accounts over the years have painted a picture that sometimes political leaders who visit Las Vegas forget that even among all the revelers in "Sin City," they're not above damaging their reputations.

Las Vegas is the place to be seen, said Craig Walton, professor emeritus of ethics and policy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "I would not try to hide in Las Vegas because there are too many spies who are looking for political figures doing just these type of things."

Ask former Education Secretary William Bennett, who after writing "The Book of Virtues" and lecturing the country on such was outed as a high-stakes binge gambler.

Ask former Mexico City finance director Gustavo Ponce -- if you can find him. He has dropped from the public eye after videos showed him gambling here and he reportedly spent lavishly in town.

Or, ask the latest victim to fall to Las Vegas' allure.

The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that Nancy Ramos, a councilwoman from Commerce, Calif., southeast of Los Angeles, is facing conflict-of-interest allegations that involve spending three nights in a Las Vegas hotel paid for by the Commerce Casino, a business her council regulates.

The newspaper reported that Ramos had been lobbying in Washington, D.C., for an initiative that could pave the way for slot machines in some California casinos, such as the one in Commerce, when casino officials offered her the stay in Las Vegas.

She used her city-issued credit card for the $1,991 bill at the Bellagio, and when City Hall staffers called the hotel to question it, they were told to forget about it -- the Commerce Casino picked up the tab, the paper said.

Known for discretion of their guests, Las Vegas casinos keep plenty of secrets. But they can't keep them all hidden.

"What happens in Vegas with incidents like these not only does not stay in Vegas, but is reported all over the planet," Walton said.

Nowhere was that more evident than last year when news stories surfaced about Bennett, who had established himself as the conservative right's morality czar, losing $8 million in Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos during a 10-year period.

Earlier this year, Mexico City's Ponce was seen on grainy video rebroadcast on the evening news gambling in town, and now the city's administration is fighting a political corruption probe and possible impeachment if the mayor.

Newspapers across the country and other publications have reported on their community leaders who take trips -- junkets, they are commonly called -- to Las Vegas supposedly to study things that will help their own community and, in turn, find plenty of time to play in the neon jungle.

As a major convention center, Las Vegas attracts plenty of visitors on expense accounts.

Jim Spinello, a former Nevada assemblyman and assistant director of administrative services for Clark County, said the problem is "not specific to Las Vegas."

"Any public official whenever he or she is traveling has to take due care to be as economical as they can be," he said. "You can waste taxpayer money in Tulsa, too."

Except that it may be easier in Las Vegas with all the attractions for anyone on an expense account or a junket.

"I would hope that most people who come here and let their hair down in business and leisure activities keep in mind that our slogan (What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas) in no way, shape or form is a permission slip to break the law or do anything unethical," said Erika Yowell, spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Yowell said that while Las Vegas is viewed as a "fun, sexy, live-it-up destination, the majority of people know that the rules that apply to civilized society still apply here."

She also said that while there are certain groups that will never come to Las Vegas because of its image, many more want to come here for legitimate purposes and conferences, including public agencies.

"There are legitimate issues that public groups can come to Las Vegas to study, such as our growing infrastructure, water conservation techniques or other community issues," she said. "To host these groups we have more convention space than anywhere else and 130,000 hotel-motel rooms. Las Vegas also is perceived to be a great value destination." Still, there are numerous accounts over the years of officials whose stewardship of the public trust went astray somewhere between their front door and a casino dice pit.

Most recently:

Yowell said it is not so much Las Vegas that is tarnished by incidents of apparent government impropriety, but rather the people who violate the public's trust.

"In terms of overall impact," she said, "it reflects more on the individual than the destination."

Simon Gottschalk, professor of sociology at UNLV, said Las Vegas "emphasizes the superlative to the point where things become out of proportion."

"When surrounded by the bright lights, the money, the luxury and huge signs that say you could become the next millionaire with a pull of a slot handle, it is not surprising that people lose perspective of what is appropriate or what is normal."

Gottschalk said that could be something as simple as a quarter becoming nothing more than "a tool that operates a slot machine" to the offer of staying for free in a luxury hotel room on the Strip.

"Nothing seems real here," Gottschalk said. "Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Las Vegas nurtures the loss of orientation because Las Vegas is built on spectacle."