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Show NATION Sunday, August 30, A7 1998 Underdogs Are Gambling on a Win in Nevada above t Anassorted packof challengersis giving the gaming industry’s choice for governora run for his money lator who leads a grow ing bipartisancoalition critical of BY LOU CANNON THE WASHINGTON Post Neal has pron the top to bring LAS VEGAS — Here in the na. tion’s gambling capital, a diverse group of underdogsis trying beat the oddsand wrest Nevad governorship fromthe designated state taxes oncasinosinline with New Jersey, which taxesits Atlan. choice of the domina: dustry That choice is Ki gross. Neal foug publican, Saeed his candida. cy two years ago and was soon lion state tax breaks on $300 million of artworks that Las Ve gas casino mogul Steve Wynn October. Cheered on by Neal, the Nevad: Commission last week turned down Wynn’s plea to in Nevada, andit’s not the Demo. erats or Republicans but the Gaming Party, State Sen. note has Thereis really only oneparty works by Renoir, Monet, Matisse and Picasso. Another sort of anti-gambling been sounded by Jones, who is close to Wynnand did not oppose the art tax break. But the Joe Neal, of Las Vegas, who mayor has sought, so far without seeking the Democratic nomination for governor Although Guinn remains the fa- success, to limit slot and video vorite to sueceed Gov. Robert J Miller, a Democrat, whois barred fromseekingathird term, he has run into a primary buzz saw in the Aaron Russo, a scribes Guinn as the puppet of a corrupt” system. Russo has waged a strong cam. paign for the Sept. 1 primary on such touchstone issues as repeal ing the car tax and preventing Ne- vada from becoming a national umping ground for nuclear waste. In June, he trailed Guinn by 41 percentage points in a poll commissioned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. By mid-August the newspaper's poll had Russo downseven points, and the Guinn camp responded with negative television commercials that sought to demonize Russo as un stable. Meanwhile, Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones became the clear leader in a crowded Democratic field with Neal a distant second. Jones would be Nevad: first female chief executive, Neal the state's first African-American governor Jones, 49, jumpedinto the gov- ernor’s race May 18, five months after being diagnosed with breast cancer. This month, after com pleting radiation and chemo therapy treatments, she met re- porters with her doctor, whosaid acer was “in complete re She has used herself as detection of cancer Review-Journal polls show Jones far ahead of Neal, 63, a vet AeGeeei.0.0 plansto display in his new Bella gio casino, whichis due openin charge the publicfor viewing the ion.” end, he respo tie City casinos at 8 percent of the dubbed * ‘The Anointed One” by local political analyst John Ralston, a label that has stuck. of ada” and would vernor dges has st week. the Legislatu paign war chest of $3.5 million, much of it coming from donors with ties to gaming,’’ as gambling is called in Nevada. Guinn, a moderate Re- y The video, in w hair and wears come back tohai been hurt by MUSICAL INSTRUMENT RENTAL SPECIAL! FIRE & ICE,INC. Heating & Air Conditioning trumpets: Sales @ Installation @ Service Weinstall Natural Gas Energy Efficient Furnace Air Conditioning Systems s Most homes - to a 1695S2nt= —< poker machines in convenience stores andneighborhood markets. A majority of Nevadans sup- ming, the economic engine of boom that has made Las Vegas the nation’s fastest-growing city and doubledthe state's popu- lation in less than two decades. it there is a ah undercurrent of concern about the influ- enceof thecasino iodustey said Michael Bowers, a political sci ence professor at the Unive of Nevada-Las Vegas. “What hi brought this concernto the foreis the belief that the casinos are us- ing Nevadaas a bank bytaking profits madehere to other states where they are opening casinos and being taxed at much higher rates. Although he opposes tax increases on gaming, Russo has tapped deeply into this reservoir of concern. Hetalks of how casino moguls have created centers of economic power that influence the state’s political decisions. Casinos are fine, but they shouldn't run the system,” he said. Russo, 55, who has lived in Las as for only two years, spent most of his careerin the entertainment business. He managed ite Midler and produced f Places The Rose. Wise Guys. such ading He said he became disillusioned with the political systemandhasnot voted since 1984. But in 1994, impressed with Ross Perot’s success in “shaking up the system,” Russo founded the libertarian-minded Constitu- tion Party. Healso madeanhourlong video, “Aaron Russo’s Mad has created p low 17 flutes. SC MMERH DS MUSIC Roelent >, Dé 17 Homeowners To Buy A Lennox System With No Payment for 90 Dayso.a.c MAQUILLANT NTEGRAI mo eve weNaan EQuite heistian Dior is what you will get our new High efficient homeowners to purchase a new Lennox High efficie clarinets a res 24 Hour Emergency Service ¥. 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