A video slot machine based on the “Princess Bride” movie is displayed in the WMS gaming booth during the first day of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) convention at the Sands Expo Center Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011.
Friday, March 2, 2012 | 7:03 p.m.
CARSON CITY — The Nevada Resort Association, a group of major casino owners, says an initiative petition to raise gaming taxes is confusing and fails to tell the voter the full story.
The petition doesn’t provide any insight into how much money will be generated or who will pay the fees.
The association, represented by attorney Matt Griffin, filed papers on Wednesday in District Court to support its lawsuit arguing that the petition should be declared defective.
Las Vegas businessman Monte Miller filed the initiative petition with the secretary of states office on Feb. 7 to boost the gambling tax on big casinos from 6 percent to 9 percent on gross revenue.
Attorney Maggie McLetchie, a spokeswoman for Miller, said she was “not surprised” and expected the Resort Association would “do all they could to keep this out of the hands of the voters.”
She said she hoped the issue doesn’t get tied up in the court, so the electorate will have a chance to decide. She said she is reviewing the issues pushed by the Resort Association.
Gaming officials say the higher tax would hit 170 of the state’s 443 casinos.
To qualify the petition, Miller would have to gather 72,352 signatures of registered voters statewide by Nov. 13.
Casinos now pay 6 percent on monthly gross revenue above $134,000. Miller’s petition would raise the tax to 9 percent on casinos whose gross revenue is more than $250,000 a month.
If the signatures are gathered, the petition will be presented to the 2013 Legislature. If it is not passed by lawmakers, it will go on the election ballot in 2014. If approved by either, the increased tax would be effective in January 2015.
In its suit to prevent the gaming tax petition from going forward, the Resort Association says, “It utterly fails to inform voters of the breadth of these changes or the character and nature of exiting taxes and fees, much less accurately describe its intended purposes and consequences.”
Griffin said the petition fails to reveal how much money would be raised or if this is the only tax or fee paid by gaming owners. It also fails to tell who would be impacted, he said.
No hearing has been set yet for the suit before District Judge James Russell.
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