Columnist Jeff German: Grey stirring up anti-gaming troops in Las Vegas

THE REV. TOM GREY isn't someone to be taken lightly.

Grey, one of the country's leading casino critics, is looking to put Las Vegas on the hot seat when the National Gambling Impact Study Commission comes to town in November.

And he may have more help than you think.

It seems as though the executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, a grass-roots organization headquartered in the Midwest, has a score to settle with the industry.

Grey, you might recall, was outmaneuvered by casino lobbyists last May when the federal commission met on his home turf of Chicago. The industry left the hearing unscathed despite Grey's attempts to discredit it.

This time, Grey is taking no chances. He's planning his attack much earlier.

Grey says there's a growing network of Las Vegans concerned about numerous quality of life issues who want to tell their stories to the commission.

These people, by no small surprise, have been left off the 54-member committee appointed by Gov. Bob Miller to help prepare for November's historic commission meeting.

The committee's goal is to portray booming Las Vegas as gaming's biggest success story. The governor has put together the most impressive group of citizens and elected officials ever assembled to tell that story.

Grey, however, doesn't appear impressed with the governor's blue ribbon panel.

"Because this is held out as the model, they've got to really show a model," Grey says. "But there are people who are going to come in and tell the national commission the rest of the story."

And it is a strange group of bedfellows indeed.

For starters, there's former Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Miller, who's been branded a malcontent by the establishment.

After several years of living in obscurity following his loss to Jan Laverty Jones in the 1991 mayor's race, Steve Miller has been given new political life thanks to Grey. He has become Grey's right-hand man in Las Vegas.

Lately, Steve Miller has made life uncomfortable for Jones as she runs for governor.

Then there's Don Williams, once the ultimate Las Vegas insider and political strategist who has become disenchanted with the government process in recent years.

Williams is not a Miller fan. In fact, it was Williams who many believe was instrumental in helping Jones defeat Steve Miller in 1991.

Williams, who still has friends in high places here, also doesn't want to be associated with Grey.

Yet, he has contacted the Grey forces in recent weeks looking for help in reaching out to the federal gaming commission.

Williams wants to provide the commission with his view of how gaming has dominated Nevada politics. That view is shared by Grey and Steve Miller.

What makes Williams a potentially dangerous witness is that he's fearless. He has no qualms about standing up to anyone, even the powerful casino industry, to make a point.

He also may be one of the most perceptive political minds around.

Even worse, Williams knows what he's talking about. He knows, as they say, where the political bodies are buried.

It's just another reason why the casino industry shouldn't take Tom Grey lightly this fall.

Nevada Rep. Jim Gibbons has distinguished himself as a speech-making machine on the House floor.

House leaders, including Speaker Newt Gingrich, honored the Republican freshman last week for his tenacity in delivering more one-minute talks at the start of each House session than any of his colleagues.

The one-minute speeches, usually carried live on C-SPAN, are a tradition in the House. Any member can reserve time to speak on any subject.

Gibbons, his aides say, has delivered 130 such mini-addresses since joining the House in January 1997.

"It's almost a part of his daily routine," one aide says.

The congressman's main reason for taking advantage of the air time was to call attention to Nevada's fight against the high-level nuclear waste dump. Gibbons has spoken on a variety of other issues, as well.

His colleagues last week handed him the Teddy Roosevelt Award for his prolific efforts.

archive