Help for problem gamblers urged

Monday, April 25, 2005 | 10:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A former compulsive gambler, who stole from his employer and wrote bum checks to fuel his habit, urged a Senate Committee today to allocate up to $3 million to help problem gamblers.

Craig Swope, who was convicted of a felony and now spends two days a week in jail, said the major benefit of such an allocation would be that it could help raise public awareness about the problem of compulsive gambling.

"This could be a great start," he told the Senate Finance Committee. "This could be a lifesaver."

And Valerie Michael of Las Vegas told the committee that her husband of 12 years gambled away $1 million without her knowledge. She said he left her with a $250,000 debt.

Michael said that her husband underwent treatment but even during the counseling, he was gambling. After the divorce he left her with the major debts run up during his gambling spree."Gambling adiction is real," she said.

The committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 357 that would take $1 a year in fiscal 2006 from the tax on each slot machine and then $2 per year in 2007 to fund grants that would be awarded by a nine-member committee.

Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, who introduced SB357, said gambling addiction is "truly a mental health crisis."

"Why is it Nevada, a leader in worldwide gambling, is the last one to do anything (to combat problem gambling)?" he asked.

Nolan's bill has the support of Bill Bible, president of the Nevada Resort Association, who said Nevada could "catch up" to other states that have funded such programs.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, asked Bible why the state should not add a tax to the casino industry to fund this program, rather than taking the money out of the general treasury.

Bible said there is surplus in the state and many lawmakers feels it is "not appropriate" to increase taxes at this time.

Gov. Kenny Guinn has included $100,000 a year in his budget to start a problem gambler program. He wants it to be matched with outside funds.

A study in 2003 found that 6.2 percent of Nevadans were problem gamblers.

Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, asked whether the problem gambling program should be coordinated with drug and alcohol abuse programs.

But Swope said that too often problem gambling takes a back seat to those other illnesses. "We don't get our day in the sun," he said. "There is not enough emphasis" on the compulsive gambler.

SB357 calls for the nine-member advisory committee to include three members from the casino industry, two from mental health, one member from the gaming research sector at UNLV, a military veteran and two members from private organizations that treat compulsive gamblers.

Swope said the committee needed to have someone on it who had been a problem gambler and he suggested that the slot proposed to be filled by a military veteran instead be filled by a former problem gambler.

The committee did not take action on the bill.