LINCOLN (AP) -
With one major vote done, the sponsor of
a casino gambling plan in the
Legislature believes prospects are good
for the measure to appear on the
November ballot.
"I think it looks
a lot more doable than ever before,"
said Lincoln Sen. DiAnna Schimek
following the 26-14 first-round vote
Thursday. "Some of our votes were gone
today."
Four senators
were present but did not vote and five
others were excused.
While just 25
votes were needed to advance the bill,
it will take 30 in the third and final
round to place it on the ballot.
The pressure of
petitions circulating to legalize casino
gambling helped motivate lawmakers to
act this year, while they have balked in
the past, Schimek said.
A group called
Keep the Money in Nebraska is
circulating petitions that would ask
voters to approve allowing slot machine
and video gambling across the state. The
group is a coalition of business people,
local communities, the horse racing
industry and casino and keno parlor
operators.
Its petitions
would allow two casinos to be
established in Omaha and up to 4,900
slot machines and video slots at
Nebraska's horse racing tracks and other
locations.
The Legislature's
plan would allow only up to eight
casinos, but says nothing about slot
machines and video slots.
If both proposals
make it on the ballot and are passed,
the state constitution says the one with
more votes takes precedent where there
are conflicts.
In that scenario,
it is expected that the issue of what is
in conflict and what isn't would be tied
up in the courts for years.
Schimek and
others argued that the Legislature
should at least be in the position to
compete with the initiative.
"People want
gambling," said Sen. Vickie McDonald of
Rockville. "They are going to get it
whether we support it or not."
Sen. Floyd
Vrtiska of Table Rock, a gambling
opponent, said the Legislature was put
in the position of accepting the lesser
of two evils.
Read the
complete article at:
Columbus Telegram
