FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 23, 2004

CONTACT:

Mark Bonkiewicz, GWTGL Spokesperson (402) 490-8612

Jonathan Krutz, MBA, GWTGL Research Director & Spokesperson (402) 540-3128

“Gambling with the Good Life” (GWTGL) office 402-496-2274 or (866) 632-7876

Nevada Casinos Caught Lying Again

OMAHA, Nebraska, USA – “Gambling with the Good Life” held a news conference today Thursday, September 23, 2004 at 2:00PM at Wheatfields Restaurant at 103^rd and Pacific (One Pacific Place), to expose the lies in the Nevada casinos’ ads. Mark Bonkiewicz is a spokesperson for the “Gambling with the Good Life” grassroots organization. At the meeting, Mark made the following comments:

Nevada Casinos Caught Lying Again

In a desperate, multi-million dollar attempt to buy their way into Nebraska’s constitution as their polling numbers plummet, Nevada’s casinos have begun telling a new lie.

First the Coast Casino campaign claimed that putting casinos in Nebraska would keep money from leaving the state. Six Nebraska economists spoke out in February 2004 calling that idea “a myth” and demonstrating that bringing casinos to Nebraska would send even more money out of the state than is leaving now. ¹

Next, on August 3, the Coast Casino campaign implied that 100 Nebraska communities supported their efforts. Several of the communities objected immediately that they had taken no stand on the proposal and were unlikely to do so. The government leaders of Eagle, Alma and Thurston County spoke out about this soon after August 3^rd.

Now the Venetian-backed casino campaign has weighed in with a new commercial that claims their proposal “keeps in Nebraska $300 million currently wagered in Iowa.” For that to be true the three Council Bluffs casinos would have to shut down and a Venetian-owned casino in Nebraska, if built, could not send a penny in profits back to Nevada.

Neither idea has any basis in reality.

If Amendment 3 were approved, would the three Council Bluffs casinos shut down? Logically minded people know the casinos in Council Bluffs will not be shut down.

The only independent study directly looking at the impact of a casino in Omaha—Creighton Economist Ernie Goss’s 2002 report to the Omaha Chamber of Commerce—found that one average-size casino in Omaha would cause a huge increase in Nebraska gambling losses, over fifty percent, with much of the increase going to the new casino. But, the report concluded, there would be little change in revenues taken by the existing Council Bluffs casinos. Their client bases are already well-established and they can be expected to compete vigorously with any new entry into their market. ²

In short, it is a lie to claim that the money now lost by Nebraskans in Iowa will suddenly all be gambled away and lost in Nebraska if a casino opens in Omaha. In addition, the Venetian lie goes even beyond this. Even if all $300 million now lost by Nebraskans in Iowa were lost instead in an Omaha-based Venetian casino, would that money stay in Nebraska? The Council Bluffs casinos take roughly one third ($100 million) out of the region currently for profits and expenses. Does anyone expect that the Venetian would not do the same? After all, that’s why the casinos are here, to make profits. ³

Whatever Amendment 3 might do, it will not keep $300 million in Nebraska as claimed. Instead, by legalizing six or more tribal and Nevada-based casinos in Nebraska, Amendment 3 will easily send two or three times as many dollars out of Nebraska’s economy as are leaving now and going to Nevada. ^{4, 5, 6}

The Venetian advertisement is a lie to the people of Nebraska. It is a particularly troublesome lie because it is being made in an attempt to change Nebraska's constitution.

To put false statements, misstatements, violations of integrity, and lies into proper perspective, our community only needs to be reminded of one word: Enron. This was a company where multiple people told multiple lies over multiple years. Those hurt the most were employees who lost their livelihood, and stockholders, many of whom lost their life savings.

In the business world, everyone has better long-term results when truth and ethics are the bedrock of daily operations. Rules and regulations exist in commerce to level the playing field. The construction industry has OSHA rules and regulations to follow, and jobsites can be shut down if a serious violation occurs. The FDA (Food & Drug Administration) can pull prescription medication off the counter if deaths occur, or drugs are proven to have significantly negative side effects.

The communications industry also has rules and regulations. One set of regulations that reputable companies abide by is the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Radio-Television News Directors Association. There are key sections in this document including Public Trust, Truth, Fairness, Integrity, Independence, and Accountability. You have been given a copy of these sections from their website. The Truth section says in part “TRUTH: Professional electronic journalists should pursue truth aggressively and present the news accurately, in context, and as completely as possible. Professional electronic journalists should:

Continuously seek the truth
Resist distortions that obscure the importance of events . . .

Professional electronic journalists should not: Report anything known to be false. . . .”

For the sake of time we will reference two more key statements, and not read the entire document. That statement in the Accountability section states: “Professional electronic journalists should:

1. Actively encourage adherence to these standards by all journalists AND their employers.

2. Respond to public concerns. . . .”

Over the course of the last nine years, Gambling With The Good Life has worked diligently to operate with honesty and integrity with all segments of the media, whether radio, television, or newspapers. We believe that during the past nine years, these radio, television, and newspaper professionals have treated us fairly. In the past we were asked by the media for reliable sources of our information. We learned from that and we not use footnotes extensively.

Therefore, based on the fact that the advertisements proclaiming “ $300,000,000 is leaving Nebraska and going to Iowa” have not proven this statement with verifiable facts or statistics, we are making the following challenge:

We call on all Nebraska broadcast outlets to immediately cease airing this commercial that is sponsored by gambling proponents. We request equal broadcast time for Gambling with the Good Life to counter the mistruths and lies that have been spread. We request that the Nebraska news media expose the lies of the outside gambling interests to the citizens of Nebraska.

We further call on the few Nebraskans who have publicly supported the Venetian proposal—Senators Patrick Bourne, Pam Brown, and DiAnna Schimek—to help stop these commercials. Finally, we encourage all Nebraskans to send a loud message to Nevada’s gambling interests by voting “NO” on all attempts to put casinos and video slots into Nebraska’s constitution on November 2nd.

1: Statement of six economists, including John Anderson who is the Chair of Economics at UNL on February 19, 2004 at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln, NE.

2: Ernest Goss, Ph.D., Creighton Univer. For the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce 2002.

3: Ernest Goss, Ph.D., Creighton Univer. For the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce 2002.

4: Ernest Goss, Ph.D., Creighton Univer. For the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce 2002.

5: Omaha World Herald 1/26/2003 “Cashing in on Casinos”

6: Analysis by Jonathan Krutz, MBA, GWTGL Research Director

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