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California Rep. Tours Sports Book

"…As the debate over whether college sports betting should be banned heats up in Congress, Matsui, in town for a private gathering, wanted to see for himself how sports books operate.

"Matsui, who had never seen a sports book before, got a crash course in how bets are taken in and paid, how odds are set and how regulated the betting is.

"Yolanda Acuna, assistant race and sports book director at The Mirage, showed Matsui how a gambler's driver's license is scanned into a computer if a bet of more than $10,000 is made. That high of a bet has to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

"...'This is something that should remain,' he said, looking up at the huge televisions showing various sports. 'We shouldn't tamper with this. This has probably the greatest enforcement and control than anything else.'

"…'This is a form of entertainment,' Matsui said. 'It's totally regulated and should be able to continue on.'

"Matsui is a co-sponsor of a bill proposed by Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., that calls for a study of illegal gambling. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., sponsored a similar bill in the Senate.

"Berkley said she invited Matsui to the sports book because she wanted him to see how regulated gambling is in Nevada.

"…Alan Feldman, spokesman for Mirage-owner MGM Grand, said showing members of Congress Nevada's sports books is the only way they can understand the issue…"

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