Las Vegas on the Potomac? Capital Mulls Gambling

People who come to Washington to see where their money goes may wind up leaving more of it here--at a casino the city leaders have set their sights on building.

Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly is keen on converting part of the capital’s convention center into a casino, to squeeze more revenue from the 20 million annual tourists who already leave $4 billion in their wake.

By her notion, tourists who spend their days traipsing through the White House and Smithsonian, admiring the monuments and admonishing their congressmen, would welcome the chance to unwind at the cool green of a craps table or the spin of a roulette wheel.

District of Columbia officials recently visited New Orleans, which has also caught the gambling bug with plans for a floating casino to add to the French Quarter’s consumption of tourist dollars.

Kelly says she envisions a politically correct version of the high-stakes games.

“The kind of gaming we are considering would be tasteful--more like Monaco--than Las Vegas or Atlantic City,” the mayor said. “I think every option has to be pursued. We are up against the wall (financially).”

Kelly’s plan would have the city build, own and operate a casino at the site of the current convention center.

Officials want to use the proceeds to finance a larger convention center--at a cost of about $500 million--that would better suit the district for large gatherings.

Opponents say the mayor is wearing rose-colored glasses.

“We don’t need gambling,” said Terrence Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, an organization representing several churches.

“What we need to attract to this city more than a few hundred so-called high rollers are technology-based industries, growth industries and more jobs that teach people better skills than yelling, ‘Twenty-one, blackjack,’ ” he said.

Congress, which can veto action by the district government, may have the last say. Reaction so far has been lukewarm.

Rep. Thomas Bliley of Virginia, the ranking Republican on the House District of Columbia Committee, which oversees the city’s budget, said he would not endorse the casino idea but wouldn’t block it, either.

But Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city’s congressional delegate, has cautioned that Congress initially probably would not accede to legalized gambling in Washington.

Though no timetable has been set, city officials say they want to move as quickly as possible. They project a casino would bring in at least $100 million in its first full year of operation.