Columnist Jeff German: This is the time to help gambling addicts

Friday, Jan. 14, 2005 | 5:38 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

WEEKEND EDITION

January 15 - 16, 2005

Life is beautiful around here on the economic scene.

Casinos are reporting record winnings, construction is booming on the Strip and unemployment has been low.

Last year's record number of visitors (37 million) has Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority executives looking for big pay raises and pushing an ambitious $400 million plan to remodel their facilities.

And the state has a $300 million budget surplus that keeps growing every day, prompting Gov. Kenny Guinn to recommend giving much of it back to us in motor vehicle registration rebates.

This good fortune is giving us a chance to demonstrate that we have a social conscience.

It provides an incredible opportunity for the state and the cash-rich casino industry to start giving back to the many among us whose lives gambling has ruined.

Our failure to set aside money to treat addicted gamblers has been an enormous embarrassment. Two previous sessions of the Legislature have refused to pass bills that would have seeded a treatment program with $250,000 in state money.

"Every other jurisdiction in the world addresses this but us," says local developer Ken Templeton, who's been fighting for the program for the past five years. "We are supposed to be the leaders of the industry, and here we don't even take care of our own."

Templeton, who also runs a slot route operation in town, chairs the board of the Problem Gambling Center, the only private clinic in Las Vegas that treats those addicted to gambling. He has seen firsthand how problem gamblers destroy their lives and burden society.

His mission this year is to make sure that the 2005 Legislature doesn't turn its back on the addicted.

So far, he's doing a pretty good job.

He had the smarts to get political this time, hiring attorney Mark James, a former state senator and county commissioner, to spearhead his initial lobbying effort.

Templeton also has taken his case directly to the casinos, where he has won early backing from the likes of Harrah's Entertainment and Station Casinos. The Nevada Resort Association, gaming's political arm, also went on record recently lending its support.

And Templeton has won over some lawmakers.

"We've ignored problem gambling as a social illness way too long," says Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, who's working on a bill draft that would steer $2 million in gaming tax revenues a year to a treatment fund.

Another senator, Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, has been working directly with the Guinn administration to turn things around, which brings us to the most intriguing development in this fight.

Guinn hasn't supported the effort in the past, believing the casino industry should pay for treating problem gamblers.

But within the past couple of weeks, amid the rosy economic forecasts, the governor miraculously has warmed up to the idea of using state money -- as long as gaming also contributes.

Guinn even is planning to announce during his Jan. 24 State of the State address that he's including money in his budget for a treatment fund.

The governor and his aides won't divulge any of the details. But Nevada Human Resources Director Mike Willden says he's recommended Guinn set aside $200,000 a year over the biennium, $100,000 from the state and $100,000 from private (casino) sources, to treat problem gamblers.

In the grand scheme of things, it's not very much money. But it's a start of something good.

And as long as Templeton and others keep up the pressure, there's plenty of time for that figure to rise in the coming weeks.

"We have to show the rest of the world that we care and aren't just out to make money," Templeton says.

It's called showing a conscience.