Monday, July 18, 2005 | 9:51 a.m.
TOPEKA, Kan. -- With legislators facing a bad case of budget blues next year, expanded gambling seems a logical solution. But logic and good politics aren't always the twin pillars on which public policy rests.
The idea of more slot machines and casinos in Kansas has been around for years -- in good economic times and bad. But it has always faltered, largely because conservatives think it's a bad idea and gambling promoters end up acting like gluttons at a Sunday buffet.
In past sessions, lawmakers somehow managed to find an antidote for their cash crisis with smoke and mirrors, magic money and other allocating illusions. But the days of pulling a rich rabbit from the hat appear past.
Come January, it's about needing real money real soon.
"We are in a situation where over the long term, we're set up to spend more than we are taking in," said state Budget Director Duane Goossen.
Legislators will need an extra $80 million or so to plug the hole in the budget to finance state government after July 1, 2006. That doesn't include additional money for education lawmakers might be obliged to pay, or other programs needing more money, such as Medicaid.
They have few options.
Higher taxes are as welcome as a hailstorm in a wheat field. Cutting state services conjures images of Kansans sleeping on sidewalks and eating cat food.
Neither makes for a good yard sign in an election year.
The other option is finding new revenue, and gambling advocates are pushing slots and casinos as something akin to the proverbial pot of gold. Their main pitch is more money for the state sooner than later and newfound riches flowing into the state treasury for years to come.
Things aren't so bad that legislators are considering car washes and bake sales to make ends meet. But gambling advocates sure can make it sound that way.
"To convince legislators they are faced with a tax increase is the important first step. Cutting the budget won't deal with the budget hole they face," said gambling lobbyist Doug Lawrence.
Lawrence said the trick is finding a balance between raising enough money to benefit the state and keeping legislators from envisioning neon signs dotting the prairie landscape.
Those who want destination casinos and slots at five dog and horse tracks need to agree among themselves on what they want. In past years, as greed grew, so did the opposition.
"Gaming supporters have been the ones killing gaming in the past because of competing interests," Lawrence said.
One champion of more gambling is Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who sees it as quick cash for schools. But she's a Democrat trying to sway a Republican-run Legislature with lots of conservatives who view anything she says as so much liberal lather.
Rep. Shari Weber, R-Herington, said many legislators resented the governor pushing gambling during the recent special session called to comply with a Kansas Supreme Court order to give public schools more money.
As for gambling's chances next year, House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, said: "If I was a betting man, I would lay odds that it shoots craps."
Not all gambling foes are conservatives, but nearly all conservatives are gambling foes. With dice, cards and slots, moderates and conservatives form a blocking bloc.
A gambling bill failed by four votes in the Senate during the special session. Opposition largely came from conservative Republicans, but still enough moderates and Democrats to tank it. So strong was opposition in the House that it never came up for serious discussion.
"Right now the morality issue has trumped everything to this point," said Loran Smith, Washburn University political science professor. "You can't compromise morality."
Yet not all conservatives are dead set against gambling beyond bingo, the state lottery, four American Indian casinos and pari-mutuel wagering at race tracks.
Sen. Phil Journey said one possibility is limiting slots to tracks in Wyandotte County and southeast Kansas, plus a casino at each location -- and a 20-year ban on any other expanded gambling.
"Some conservatives might vote if it was narrowly drawn and closed the issue for years to come," said Journey, R-Haysville. "It's a small backfire to stop the larger fire."
Even if gambling fails next year, it'll be back.
"Where a market exists, people will try. Someone will come forward," said Lawrence, the gambling lobbyist.
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