‘Gambler’s Special’ a Bad Bet

The enthusiasm of proponents of a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas casinos and Anaheim, nicknamed the “Gambler’s Special,” has been rekindled with a federal grant to Nevada officials and hopes of more public funding. It still doesn’t look like a good bet for Orange County.

It was 10 years ago that then-Gov. Pete Wilson, concerned about limited ridership potential, halted funding for a state commission that had been formed to push the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Project. The plan called for a magnetic levitation (maglev) train that could whisk tourists and gamblers from Anaheim to the desert gambling mecca at speeds of about 300 miles an hour.

Not that much has changed since the project was first floated nearly 20 years ago. It still has stronger support from Nevada officials, where a 40-mile demonstration corridor is being planned, from Las Vegas to Primm at the California border. But completion to Anaheim still amounts to a high-stakes gamble, given its estimated price tag of $9 billion.

Initially it was envisioned as a completely private effort between resorts in Las Vegas and Anaheim. Then proponents began seeking public funds too, as they intend to do now in this resurrected effort.

The desert rail line didn’t carry a high priority in Orange County years ago, and there’s even more reason now that it shouldn’t. True, there is more congestion along Interstate 15, the road to Las Vegas, but there also is much more congestion throughout Orange County and along the main traffic corridors of Southern California. Money is still needed here for critical bus, road and rail projects.

In fact, the Anaheim-to-Vegas run hasn’t been the only proposal for high-speed train service. Other proposed routes would, for instance, connect San Diego and Orange County to Central and Northern California. If high-speed train service proved feasible, those in-state routes would seem more likely to meet the travel demands of Southern California.

Last June, Anaheim adopted a resolution supporting the Las Vegas train. And in December 1998 the Orange County Transportation Authority gave $50,000 to the Nevada commission promoting the rail line.

There has never been enough interest from the private sector to support a Las Vegas maglev line, and it lost state support from California. If asked, now that the proposal has been revived, the OCTA shouldn’t lay any more scarce local dollars on the line for the “Gambler’s Special.”