COLUMN: Jon Ralston

     A veritable cornucopia of political delights du jour, finely prepared by a seasoned pundit:
      -- The view from Atlantic City: Ever wonder how the media in other jurisdictions characterize the various political shenanigans engaged in by the gaming industry? During the past two days, the irreverence of the Atlantic City Press has been something to behold as it has described the escalating conflagration over what writer Donald Wittkowski has called the "Great Tunnel Tussle."
      The scrap involves Steve Wynn's advocacy for a $300 million tunnel connecting an expressway with his planned casino development in Atlantic City's Marina District. That effort, supported by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and a host of state officials, has been vociferously opposed by Wynn's good friend, Donald Trump. And with Wynn's project on hold, Bally's Arthur Goldberg has made the flammable suggestion that his company would be happy to step into the breach.
      Consider how a Sunday editorial in the Press described the conflict: "Boys, boys, boys ... So what happens next? Donald and Steve squaring off in the schoolyard with Arthur standing behind Donald, shouting `Hit him, hit him'? We think we've figured out what the problem is here ... It's testosterone. Testosterone poisoning, to be exact. A machismo overload. Ego city." Boy, do I have a story about air rights for you, Atlantic City Fourth Estaters.
      Then Monday, Wittkowski followed up the editorial by painting this picture of the controversy: "The Atlantic City tragicomedy features a titanic struggle between two casino moguls, enough litigation to keep lawyers in Mercedes-Benzes for years and New Jersey's version of the Civil War."
      And we thought all the humor gaming offered could be found on the Las Vegas Strip or downtown.
      -- It's the Indian, stupid: Sources say that Nevada advocates have been informed again recently by the White House that Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible's seat on a federal gaming commission remains secure. Sources say administration officials are moving with molasses-like alacrity not because they fear Bible has been tainted, but because they have been unable to find a tribal gaming appointment who can pass muster. Bible's case also has been helped by the surprising failure of the national press, especially the rabidly anti-gaming New York Times and Washington Post, to follow up on the ABC News report implying the state's regulatory system is lax. Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything.
      -- A venting session? Southern Nevada lawmakers are still chattering about a caucus session last week that turned into an outpouring of frustration and gaming-bashing. After Infrastructure Committee Chairman David Goldwater made a presentation, sources say, various southerners expressed dismay with a proposed quarter-cent sales tax proposal to fund 30 percent of a new water plumbing system.
      Among those who were incensed was Ways and Means Chairman Morse Arberry, who stormed out of the caucus after complaining that he and others would face voter wrath if they approved the increase. Others voiced displeasure with being forced to bail out a Clark County Commission that, as one put it, "approves every project that comes before them on their agenda." Still others grumbled that the gaming industry, as another said, "was making us look like patsies."
      A question if I might: How many of these would-be leaders have taken the time to hear the water district's presentation, are willing to sell higher water rates and connection charges as an alternative or have even studied the infrastructure issue beyond how it affects their career longevity?
      Just asking.
     
     Jon Ralston publishes "The Ralston Report," a political newsletter. His column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.