Nevada lottery bill dies in Assembly committee

An Assembly chairman says he'll let a proposal to establish a Nevada lottery die without a vote.

Constitutional Amendments Chairman Harry Mortenson, D-Las Vegas, said he won't call for a vote on AJR1, adding that he was convinced by Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, that a lottery wouldn't work in Nevada.

"Whether or not it would be profitable is a question," he said Thursday. "In other states with lotteries, revenues go up in a flurry and then they die down. You have to set up an infrastructure, and then it dies and you have to fire people."

Lotteries have been prohibited in the state since the adoption of the Nevada Constitution in 1864.

"I think it is a sleazy business for a state government to be in," Mortenson added. "But I also respect the right of the people to make decisions."

In numerous polls over the years, more than two-thirds of respondents have backed a state lottery.

If the resolution had been approved by the Legislature this year and again in 2005, voters in 2006 would have decided whether to allow a state lottery.

Earlier this year, Assemblywoman Kathy McClain, D-Las Vegas, said she thought Nevada could reap a $100 million annual profit for the state if the Nevada lottery was part of the national Powerball lottery.

McClain sponsored the lottery resolution, identical to one that passed the Assembly 38-4 two years ago and then died in the Senate.

Mortenson said Perkins might support a study by legislators on the benefits of a state lottery.

The chairman added that his decision to let the proposal die without a vote has nothing to do with gambling industry opposition to a state lottery.

"There was no big protest from casinos," Mortenson said.