Key Gambling Panel Member Leaving
One of the most knowledgeable members of the Washington State Gambling Commission is leaving his post this spring and plenty of people are worried about who will replace him.
Edward Heavey’s term on the commission ends in June. He was appointed by former Gov. Mike Lowry in 1994 and is not eligible for another term.
“His influence has been important to us because he’s been there the longest,” said Patricia Herbold, a commissioner since April 1997.
“He has a lot of history about what has happened that the rest of us don’t have,” she said.
In the five years since Heavey’s arrival on the commission, 13 tribal casinos and more than 35 housebanked, nontribal casinos have opened. And in just the last three years, gambling in the state has grown by more than 33 percent.
“A snowball rolling downhill - that’s what I think gambling is,” said Heavey, who does not gamble himself. “I think it is only a matter of a few years that we have a full range of gambling activity in the state, including slot machines.
“I suppose at some point there will be an effort to have non-Indian, full-range casinos like in Las Vegas.”
Heavey said working on the commission is an interesting, but frustrating job.
“I think the majority of the people on the commission are not in favor of wide-open gambling, but we don’t know how to stop it,” he said Tuesday.
“We are developing a gambling policy by backing into it. But I suppose that is the only way you can on a topic as controversial as this. If you had a comprehensive gambling policy it would be so controversial that it would never get anywhere.”
With state gambling issues far more complex than five years ago, many are keeping a close eye on whom Gov. Gary Locke appoints to replace Heavey, a retired Superior Court judge.
“Everyone is concerned,” said Sen. Margarita Prentice, a nonvoting member of the commission.
“The industry wants to be sure they don’t have someone who is anti-gambling. The tribes are concerned they don’t get someone who is anti-Indian,” she said.
Part of the concern is what many view as Locke’s unintelligible stance on gambling. While the governor says he does not favor any expansion, he approved a $17 million tribal casino near Spokane, signed a bill allowing house-banked minicasinos and gave the nod to an agreement allowing tribes to have devices similar to slot machines.
“The governor will probably want to find someone who would be thinking along the same lines as he is on gambling issues,” Herbold said. “But I’m not sure what those lines are.”
That view is shared by Don Kaufman, director of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Spokane County. The nonprofit organization derives most of its revenue from charitable gaming, an area Heavey has championed.
“The problem is the governor,” Kaufman said. “Knowing where the governor wants to go in gaming is the real question mark.”
Officially, the governor’s office hasn’t started looking for a replacement for Heavey, according to Barbara Dunn, deputy communications director for Locke.