MGM Mirage’s Lanni backed Jim Gibbons but now parrots Dina Titus

Gov. Jim Gibbons and gaming honcho Terry Lanni remind me of the tale about the scorpion and the frog. The scorpion asks for help crossing the river, assuring the frog he won’t sting him because then they would both drown.

In the middle of the river, the scorpion stings, and sure enough, they both start to sink. The frog can’t believe what happened, but the scorpion said, “You knew what I was.”

The MGM Mirage chairman knew Gibbons was a no-new-taxes guy when he and other gaming officials supported the Republican in 2006.

That’s what makes it funny to listen to a thoughtful, well-crafted speech by Lanni asking the business community to join gaming to create a plan for new business taxes.

If he could fake a Southern accent, Lanni could channel Dina Titus, the Democratic state senator who didn’t become governor but would have been receptive to Lanni’s speech if she had.

“I told the gaming industry during the campaign by supporting Gibbons and his no taxes pledge, they were putting the target on the backs of gaming and forcing an initiative,” Titus said Friday.

And that’s exactly what happened. The initiative process is under way to raise taxes by taxing one source: gaming.

Lanni knew he had chosen an unfriendly crowd when he spoke Thursday to 850 business types at the Nevada Development Authority luncheon. These are folks who work to bring new businesses to Nevada using the pitch that Nevada is a low-tax state.

His message: Work with gaming to raise taxes on medium to large businesses while protecting small businesses. “We have to accept the fact that a no-tax environment is a relic of a bygone era,” he said. Nobody applauded.

I agreed with most of his 30-minute speech. Nongaming businesses have gotten a break in Nevada because of all the taxes paid by gaming.

Titus agrees with Lanni that the tax system is in chaos and needs stabilizing. She agrees with Lanni that raising taxes through initiative is not responsible.

And when Lanni said whether Nevada is 49th on state spending for education (or 37th if you add construction spending ) that “even 37th isn’t remotely good enough,” he was paralleling what Titus consistently said about being at the bottom of the best lists and top of the worst lists.

He even took a swipe at Sen. Bob Beers for including construction spending in figuring the education spending, calling it “something virtually no one would reasonably do for this calculation.” (Just like me, Lanni has a snotty side.)

But when I asked the gaming executive about knowing what he was getting when he supported Gibbons, Lanni said, “I did and do support Jim Gibbons. … I’ve not reduced any of my consideration and support for the governor.”

Will the NDA come to the table? Sure they will. They’ll certainly want to be part of the discussion about any tax on businesses, but I’ll be surprised if they do more than play defense. That’s what business groups have historically done, through coalitions that first say yeah, then nay, before crumbling.

Lanni isn’t certain a coalition of business and gaming to create a plan to raise taxes on businesses will be successful. But if it is, he wants to meet with the governor and ask whether he’d be willing to let the Legislature meet and consider taxes. “If they take action, maybe they can create a bill (Gibbons) could sign.”

Would he be able to change the minds of the Review-Journal editorial board, known for its unwavering anti-tax stance? “I work on the difficult, and work on the impossible later,” Lanni said.

His disdain for the local media drew the only laugh in his half-hour speech, while none of his tax urgings drew any applause. “To read the local newspapers — something I try to avoid if I actually want to know what’s going on — one would think the Nevada economy is in a state of crisis,” he said.

Lanni isn’t certain Nevada’s economy is in a crisis, “but it’s certainly an economy in a state of chaos.”

But the frog isn’t willing to accept any responsibility for giving the scorpion a ride.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275.