Latest / The KFAB Comment Line with Jean Stothert / Online Sports Betting Initiative 440 and 441

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Online Sports Betting Initiative 440 and 441 · The KFAB Comment Line with Jean Stothert

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Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jean Stothert, Peyton Highlock. My producer is
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Speaker 1: also here this morning. Good morning, Peyton.
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Speaker 2: Good morning, Jean.
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Speaker 1: And thank you all for being with us today. We
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Speaker 1: want to hear from you. We want to get your feedback.
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Speaker 1: We want to hear your comments, concerns, questions, complaints. Anything goes, city, state, national,
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Speaker 1: or the world. We always have great guests, but of course,
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Speaker 1: you are going to hear plenty of opinions from me too,
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Speaker 1: but it is your chance to speak up and sound off.
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Speaker 1: please send your emails to comment at kfab.com. You can
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Speaker 1: call us at 402-558-1110, or you can leave us a
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Speaker 1: recorded message on the talkback mic, and we'll play it
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Speaker 1: on the air. But we are very happy that you
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Speaker 1: are with us, and we are very happy that state auditor,
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Speaker 1: Nebraska state auditor of public accounts is with us today
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Speaker 1: on the phones.
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Speaker 2: Mike Foley, thank you for being here today.
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Speaker 3: Hey, Jean. So thrilled to be on the air with you,
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Speaker 3: and congratulations on your radio show. I think it's going
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Speaker 3: to go great, and it's going to be Bigger and
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Speaker 3: bigger audience as time goes on. So thanks for doing this.
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Speaker 2: Well, thank you for saying that. I love doing it.
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Speaker 1: And who would have ever thought I'd be doing this?
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Speaker 1: But it's really fun. And thank you for being with us.
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Speaker 1: You know, first of all, I've got to say, you know,
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Speaker 1: you've been the auditor since, let's see, 2000, let's see,
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Speaker 1: since 2023.
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Speaker 2: You're running again.
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Speaker 1: And then you were auditor from 2007 to 2015. I
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Speaker 1: will say Mike Foley is known for his efforts in
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Speaker 1: uncovering fraud and inefficiencies in government operations.
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Speaker 2: People love that.
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Speaker 1: I mean, people really like to see what you are
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Speaker 1: doing and what you are looking into. And these are
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Speaker 1: all to basically promote responsiveness. government, responsible government. So thank
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Speaker 1: you for what you do.
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Speaker 2: But you know what?
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Speaker 1: I got to say this to start out, and then
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Speaker 1: I'm going to play a commercial that's starting today. But
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Speaker 1: you know, Auditor Foley, I've been talking for months now
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Speaker 1: about these elections coming up and been telling people, please
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Speaker 1: be informed voters, and please understand what these bond issues are,
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Speaker 1: and please understand what these initiatives are. Today, you are
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Speaker 1: on the show. We're And we've been receiving brochures in
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Speaker 1: the mail. There are television commercials, radio commercials playing about
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Speaker 1: them right now.
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Speaker 2: And I wanted you to come.
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Speaker 1: On today because you did a press conference just recently
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Speaker 1: with Nebraska Family Alliance, Husker coaches Tom Osborne and Ron Brown,
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Speaker 1: as well as state treasurer Joey Spellerberg, to oppose this
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Speaker 1: ballot initiative 440A.
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Speaker 2: And 441.
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Speaker 1: And just to remind people, this would be an amendment
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Speaker 1: to the state constitution to permit, excuse me, internet-based sports
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Speaker 1: betting through licensed operators.
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Speaker 2: That's what this is about.
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Speaker 1: Now, before we play this video, and then I'm going
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Speaker 1: to let you have the floor here, I've been talking
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Speaker 1: about this initiative for a couple weeks now because I
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Speaker 1: received a flyer in the And it says, vote for
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Speaker 1: $ 166 million in property tax relief. That's what it says
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Speaker 1: you're voting for. And that's what the commercial that is
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Speaker 1: out there now says. Oh, you mean I just have
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Speaker 1: to vote for this and I get $ 166 million in
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Speaker 1: direct property tax relief?
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Speaker 2: And it's not true.
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Speaker 1: In fact, even if you read the small print, it
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Speaker 1: will say these are based on tax revenue forecasts with
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Speaker 1: a 10-year revenue projection based on market maturity. So this
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Speaker 1: is 10, over 10 years. Let me play the new commercial,
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Speaker 1: and then I'm going to have you talk and tell
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Speaker 1: us why that you are with this group that is
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Speaker 1: opposing this initiative.
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Speaker 2: So let's play that first.
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Speaker 4: I'm State Auditor Mike Foley.
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Speaker 2: And I'm State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg. The sports betting industry
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Speaker 2: is lying about lowering your property taxes.
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Speaker 3: Don't forget, the casinos made the same.
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Speaker 4: False promises six years ago.
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Speaker 3: And our property.
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Speaker 2: Taxes aren't lower.
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Speaker 3: Sports betting revenue would be only 1% of Nebraska's property
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Speaker 3: tax bill.
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Speaker 2: And it will hurt our student-athletes. And undermine the integrity
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Speaker 2: of Nebraska athletics. Don't believe the lies. Vote against Initiatives
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Speaker 2: 440 and 441. All right.
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Speaker 1: There's the commercial that's being released today.
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Speaker 2: It might already be out.
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Speaker 1: But Auditor Foley, talk to us about why you are
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Speaker 1: with this group and why you are opposing these two initiatives.
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Speaker 1: And tell us the truth about the you can vote
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Speaker 1: for $ 166 million in property tax relief.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I wish it was so easy to just cast
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Speaker 3: that one vote and I get all this big windfall.
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Speaker 3: But that's not how it works in the real world.
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Speaker 3: And there is a great deception going on here. And
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Speaker 3: I appreciate this chance to try to expose what's happening.
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Speaker 3: You know, you mentioned the waste, fraud and abuse that
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Speaker 3: I typically uncover and publicize. I try to fix things
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Speaker 3: down here in Lincoln. But in that role, I just
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Speaker 3: feel duty bound to speak up because I'm just not
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Speaker 3: going to stand by in idle silence. While I see
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Speaker 3: the people of Nebraska getting fleeced by two out-of-state gambling collaboratives,
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Speaker 3: one in New York, one in Boston, coming in and saying,
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Speaker 3: I know what you're paying is. You're paying high property taxes,
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Speaker 3: and I'm going to help you solve that. Just vote yes,
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Speaker 3: and we'll have these two gambling platforms, and life is
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Speaker 3: going to be good. That's not how it's going to work.
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Speaker 3: They're going to drain hundreds of millions of dollars out
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Speaker 3: of Nebraska. With a casino, at least with a casino,
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Speaker 3: you can say, well, it's Nebraska to help build it
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Speaker 3: and it's Nebraska to help staff it. So there's a
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Speaker 3: little bit of benefit there for Nebraska, but not with
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Speaker 3: these online platforms. It's not Nebraska's. It's out-of-state gambling companies
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Speaker 3: putting up an internet platform and enticing young men. That's
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Speaker 3: what this is really all about with sports betting, enticing
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Speaker 3: young men. To bet their tuition money or their vacation money,
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Speaker 3: whatever their consumable money is, put it on the line
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Speaker 3: and bet for those teams that you love or teams
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Speaker 3: you don't like, just bet against them. So it's going
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Speaker 3: to drain a lot of money out of consumer spending.
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Speaker 3: Anybody who's had even a rudimentary course in economics knows
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Speaker 3: if you want a vibrant economy, you've got to have
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Speaker 3: strong consumer spending. Food, clothing, shelter, transportation, education, medical services,
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Speaker 3: those are the kind of things we buy day in
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Speaker 3: and day out. If you drain hundreds of millions of
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Speaker 3: dollars out of that consumable spending, it's really going to
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Speaker 3: affect the economy across our state. Our state budget's already
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Speaker 3: in a hurting position right now. And the legislature comes
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Speaker 3: back in January. They've got a big problem to solve.
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Speaker 3: And this is just going to contribute to this. You know,
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Speaker 3: this postcard you're talking about, I got one, too. I've
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Speaker 3: got one right in front of me, in fact.
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Speaker 4: Right.
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Speaker 3: And, again, you read the fine print. It talks about
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Speaker 3: this consultant from Iris and Kredgek.
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Speaker 5: Yes.
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Speaker 3: The California company.
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Speaker 4: I called them.
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Speaker 3: A couple weeks ago and said, hey, I just got
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Speaker 3: this postcard about all this big money that saved me.
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Speaker 3: Can I get a copy of your study so I
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Speaker 3: can study this a bit further? And they said, well,
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Speaker 3: there really is no study. That's just a national projection.
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Speaker 3: We kind of break up a little piece of it
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Speaker 3: from Nebraska to show what you'll get in Nebraska. I said, yeah,
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Speaker 3: there's no study? They said, well, no, we didn't do
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Speaker 3: a Nebraska-specific study. Then they called me back an hour
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Speaker 3: later and said, well, no, no, we misspoke. There is
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Speaker 3: a Nebraska-specific study, and you can get that from the
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Speaker 3: proponents that are handling this campaign in Nebraska. Well, I
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Speaker 3: reached out to those folks.
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Speaker 6: I know them.
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Speaker 3: I know two of these guys that are running this campaign.
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Speaker 3: And they're ghosting me.
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Speaker 4: Interesting. All I want is a copy of your study.
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Speaker 3: That's all I want, just so I can read it.
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Speaker 3: I like reading stuff like this.
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Speaker 1: So misleading at best, what is coming in this flyer.
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Speaker 2: So I just want to reclarify.
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Speaker 1: You said the pro-online sports betting campaign, which is called
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Speaker 1: Tax Relief Nebraska, this is all being funded out of state.
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Speaker 3: West has two companies that put up $ 14 million. One
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Speaker 3: company's in New York. The other one's in Boston. It's
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Speaker 3: called Fan Duels and Draft Kings. They control 96% of
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Speaker 3: the market in online sports betting. And they're not in Nebraska,
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Speaker 3: except if you go to a casino. And you can
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Speaker 3: play on their platforms if you're in a casino. But
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Speaker 3: they want to put it on every smartphone across the state.
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Speaker 3: And then it takes young males to come in and
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Speaker 3: start placing their bets and losing a whole lot of money.
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Speaker 3: Here's the statistic for you, Gene. The last three years alone,
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Speaker 3: just in three years, Nebraskans have lost almost a half
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Speaker 3: billion dollars at the casinos. You've got to believe that's
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Speaker 3: going to have an impact on our economy, and it is.
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Speaker 3: It's draining money off of Wall Street, or off of
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Speaker 3: Bain Street, I should say, from shops and restaurants, retailers,
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Speaker 3: and so forth, and it's putting it into the casino coffers,
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Speaker 3: and it's going to get a whole lot worse. if
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Speaker 3: this online sports betting comes.
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Speaker 4: Into our state.
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Speaker 1: Okay, these New York and Boston companies, they are set
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Speaker 1: to make a lot of money off of this, not
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Speaker 1: necessarily to stay in Nebraska.
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Speaker 6: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: New York and Boston is not in our state with
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Speaker 3: a $ 14 million campaign because they just love Nebraska and
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Speaker 3: they want to help us. That's not what this is
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Speaker 3: all about at all. They want to fleece Nebraska and
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Speaker 3: buy hundreds of millions of dollars and then send back
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Speaker 3: a few bucks In property tax relief. And what it is,
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Speaker 3: it's a small pittance of money. Last year, Nebraskans paid $ 5. 5
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Speaker 3: billion in property taxes. It's a huge problem. Anybody in
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Speaker 3: politics in Nebraska knows this is the number one issue
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Speaker 3: on the minds of people. And they know it in
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Speaker 3: New York and Boston because they've been coached by their
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Speaker 3: local political operatives. They just pitch it as property tax
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Speaker 3: relief and you'll get your job done. You'll get the votes.
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Speaker 4: And they make.
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Speaker 3: But I'm going to speak out against this as much
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Speaker 3: as I can because I'm just so inflamed and so
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Speaker 3: concerned about what Nebraskans may be doing.
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Speaker 2: I was too when I got this flyer.
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Speaker 1: And, you know, the fact is, is we have no
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Speaker 1: guarantee that any of the money will stay in Nebraska.
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Speaker 2: Yet this flyer says you're voting.
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Speaker 1: For $ 166 million in property tax relief.
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Speaker 2: And that is just an out-and-out lie.
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Speaker 3: It's an out-and-out lie. And if it's true, show us.
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Speaker 4: Show us your study.
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Speaker 3: If you can back up that number, show it to us.
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Speaker 3: And even if it's true, Jean, even if it's true,
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Speaker 3: $ 166 million over 10 years, That's a patent. That's like, what,
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Speaker 3: $ 16 million a year against a $ 5. 5 billion tax bill?
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Speaker 6: Right.
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Speaker 3: That's not solving my problem.
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Speaker 2: It's about less than 1%, yes.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, you're going to give me $ 10, $ 15 to pay
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Speaker 3: my property taxes? That doesn't cut it. It's not going
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Speaker 3: to get me there because they'll make it up many
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Speaker 3: times over with increased valuations and increasing levies and so forth,
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Speaker 3: which they're doing all the time.
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Speaker 2: And we all know.
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Speaker 1: That there was a campaign to legalize casino gambling in
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Speaker 1: Nebraska several years ago. And they said hundreds of millions
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Speaker 1: of dollars was leaving Nebraska for other states and building
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Speaker 1: the casinos would keep that money in Nebraska and lower
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Speaker 1: property taxes. And how has that turned out for Nebraska
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Speaker 1: property taxes six years later?
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Speaker 4: I'm still waiting.
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Speaker 1: I'm still waiting, too. And so, I mean, there's a
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Speaker 1: good example of what was promised. And they promised real
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Speaker 1: property tax relief. This bill, does it actually direct money
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Speaker 1: into property tax relief? Because of what I could find,
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Speaker 1: there's nothing that said it would go to property tax relief.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, well, in the fine print that they filed with
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Speaker 3: the Secretary of State, it does provide that based on losses...
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Speaker 3: Based on gambling losses, they have to pay a portion
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Speaker 3: of that in fees to Nebraska, which will be converted
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Speaker 3: into a property tax credit. But it's such a pittance
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Speaker 3: compared to what they're going to drain out of Nebraska.
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Speaker 3: They're going to literally pull, this is no exaggeration, they're
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Speaker 3: going to pull hundreds of millions of dollars out of
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Speaker 3: Nebraska's economy and then send us a small check back
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Speaker 3: for property tax relief. And it's not going to be
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Speaker 3: meaningful in any way, shape, or form. We've seen this
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Speaker 3: with the casinos, over-promising what they can do. It didn't
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Speaker 3: pan out. And now here they are back again with
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Speaker 3: the same playbook. Just pitch it as property tax relief,
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Speaker 3: and you'll get people to vote for it. And to
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Speaker 3: an uninformed voter, if you see $ 166 million, think, wow,
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Speaker 3: that's great. I want that. But they don't realize you
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Speaker 3: paid $ 5. 5 billion last year, and $ 166 million is based
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Speaker 3: on a study that you can't see because they won't
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Speaker 3: give it to you. And spread out over 10 years,
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Speaker 3: if this thing matures the way they think it will.
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Speaker 3: So if this is a scam, plain and simple, I'm
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Speaker 3: going to call it out for what it is. I
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Speaker 3: don't know how it's going to shake up with the voters.
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Speaker 3: But when the dust settles on this election, I'm going
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Speaker 3: to say, I did everything I could to stop this.
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Speaker 3: Because I think it's going to be so damaging.
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Speaker 6: To our state.
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Speaker 3: And I just can't stand by in idle silence and
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Speaker 3: let it happen.
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Speaker 2: And I'm glad you're doing it.
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Speaker 1: And like I said, with your group, you had Tom Osborne,
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Speaker 1: Ron Brown, State Secretary, Joey Spelleberg. Even Warren Buffett has
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Speaker 1: spoken out many times against the bad and negative effects
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Speaker 1: of gambling. So what I have said on this show
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Speaker 1: so many times is be informed about what you're voting
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Speaker 1: for with these initiatives and for these bond issues. don't
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Speaker 1: just vote no because you don't understand it. Some of
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Speaker 1: these things may, I mean, not this, but some of
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Speaker 1: these bond issues may be very, very good, but know
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Speaker 1: what you're voting for. And you are not voting on
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Speaker 1: this one for 166 million in direct property tax. You
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Speaker 1: are voting for the ability to To change the state
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Speaker 1: constitution for internet-based sports betting through licensed operators, there's two initiatives.
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Speaker 1: 440 proposes the amendment to the constitution to permit internet-based
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Speaker 1: sports betting, and then 441 establishes the legal and regulatory framework.
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Speaker 2: For online wagering.
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Speaker 1: So I've told people many times, if you're all for it,
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Speaker 1: if you know all about it and you are all
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Speaker 1: for this, you understand clearly where this is coming from,
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Speaker 1: who is funding it, and you want this, then vote
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Speaker 1: for it. But if you understand really the ills of it,
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Speaker 1: And what the truth is about it, don't vote for it.
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Speaker 1: Don't think that you're going to get this $ 166 million
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Speaker 1: suddenly next year on property tax relief. And you are
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Speaker 1: so right. The number one issue in the state of Nebraska,
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Speaker 1: the number one issue in Omaha is property tax relief.
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Speaker 1: So you hit somebody with that and say you're going
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Speaker 1: to get all this property tax relief.
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Speaker 2: People respond.
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Speaker 1: And the problem is the real issue is people are
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Speaker 1: voting and they have been voting. And, you know, they've
14:29
Speaker 1: been voting for several weeks now. And so I think
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Speaker 1: the more that we could get this message out of
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Speaker 1: what this really is and what it could really do
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Speaker 1: to the state of Nebraska, I think it's really important.
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Speaker 6: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: I've spoken to Tom Osborne many times about this, including
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Speaker 3: very recently, just a couple weeks ago, and he's deeply
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Speaker 3: concerned what this is going to do to our athletes.
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Speaker 3: You know, student athletes are under a lot of pressure
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Speaker 3: already to deliver and perform well. You know, with the
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Speaker 3: NIL factor and the portals and so forth, it's high
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Speaker 3: pressure on these kids. And now you throw gambling on
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Speaker 3: top of it. The athletes are already being harassed by
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Speaker 3: people who are betting through other modems and harassing the athletes.
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Speaker 3: You didn't make the point spread, you missed the tackle,
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Speaker 3: you didn't make the catch, whatever it was, and you
15:14
Speaker 3: missed the point spread and I lost money. And putting
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Speaker 3: that burden on these kids, that's just terrible. I also
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Speaker 3: talked to David Geyer, executive director of the Gambler's Assistance Program.
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Speaker 3: He says, we're just swamped. And it's all about sports.
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Speaker 3: And that's the trend, sports betting. We got so many
15:31
Speaker 3: counselors that they can't handle a caseload. Because there's so
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Speaker 3: many people struggling with debt burdens and bankruptcies and divorces
15:38
Speaker 3: and so forth because of gambling addictions.
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Speaker 2: Because of the ease of it.
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Speaker 1: I know that the National Council on Problem Gambling reported
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Speaker 1: the risk of gambling addiction has grown by about 30%
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Speaker 1: because of all the online sports betting. And, you know,
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Speaker 1: it shows about 150% increase of calls into the gambling helpline.
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Speaker 1: And according to the NCAA, about two-thirds, this is an
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Speaker 1: interesting statistic. NCAA says about two-thirds of college students have
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Speaker 1: bet on sports, and most of them, most of them
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Speaker 1: are not the legal age to do so.
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Speaker 4: Exactly.
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Speaker 3: In fact, what they're finding is some of the athletes
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Speaker 3: themselves are now getting drawn into this and placing bets
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Speaker 3: for or against their own teams. This is reminiscent of
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Speaker 3: the Chicago Black Sox back a hundred years ago. We
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Speaker 3: don't want that. We don't want that in our sports.
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Speaker 3: We want clean sports, good athletes who are rewarded for
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Speaker 3: the performance, but we don't need gambling on top of
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Speaker 3: all this.
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Speaker 1: No, and also I think a lot of people that
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Speaker 1: are novices at it think that they're going to make
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Speaker 1: some money, but I think that you always have to
16:43
Speaker 1: keep in mind that about 96% of online sports bettors
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Speaker 1: lose money gambling.
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Speaker 3: That's right.
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Speaker 2: And I think people have to realize.
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Speaker 4: That, so.
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Speaker 1: Auditor Foley, any other comments about these two initiatives, 440
16:58
Speaker 1: and 441?
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Speaker 3: Well, I think Main Street retailers and shop owners and
17:03
Speaker 3: restaurant owners ought to be aware of this because that's
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Speaker 3: where the money's going to come from. There's only so
17:07
Speaker 3: many dollars in our pocket. And if you pull a
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Speaker 3: half billion dollars out, as you already have with the casinos,
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Speaker 3: and maybe another half billion in online sports betting, it's
17:14
Speaker 3: going to hit Main Street big time. It's going to
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Speaker 3: affect our economy in a very, very negative way.
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Speaker 1: Absolutely i mean you could more honestly say it will
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Speaker 1: take a hundred sixty million from main street business And
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Speaker 1: that money will not be staying then in Nebraska. It
17:28
Speaker 1: will be going out of state.
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Speaker 3: New York and Boston, and they'll love to pick our pockets.
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Speaker 2: Absolutely. Thank you so much.
17:36
Speaker 1: I really appreciate what you are doing and how you
17:39
Speaker 1: are really coming out in opposition to this and letting
17:43
Speaker 1: people know exactly what it really means. I really appreciate
17:46
Speaker 1: your input. And also with the others that are working
17:50
Speaker 1: on this issue with you, like Coach Osborne, Ron Brown,
17:54
Speaker 1: Joyce Bellerberg, These are all great people that I think
17:57
Speaker 1: we all respect, and they're telling us what the facts
18:00
Speaker 1: really are. So I really appreciate you doing what you're doing.
18:03
Speaker 2: Thank you.
18:04
Speaker 7: Thank you.
18:04
Speaker 3: Appreciate it.
18:05
Speaker 4: All right.
18:06
Speaker 3: Bye.
18:07
Speaker 5: Bye.
18:07
Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
18:09
Speaker 1: And so this is what we continue to talk about.
18:13
Speaker 1: Several weeks ago when Kathleen Kauth was subbing for me,
18:17
Speaker 1: And she said, if you don't understand it, vote no.
18:19
Speaker 1: And I said, no, that is the worst advice you
18:22
Speaker 1: can give to anybody. My advice is understand what it is.
18:28
Speaker 1: If you are all for online sports betting, if you
18:31
Speaker 1: are okay with all of the issues that have been
18:35
Speaker 1: identified that are the ills of sports betting, if this
18:40
Speaker 1: is what you want in Nebraska, if this constitutional amendment–
18:44
Speaker 1: then I say then vote for it if you're truly
18:48
Speaker 1: informed about it. But understand and understand that you are
18:52
Speaker 1: not voting for $ 166 million in property tax relief and
18:55
Speaker 1: understand that these two businesses that are putting the money
18:58
Speaker 1: in here, trying to tell Nebraskans what they're going to
19:02
Speaker 1: get in property tax relief are from Boston and they're
19:04
Speaker 1: from New York. And the majority of this money will
19:07
Speaker 1: be funneled into them and their company. So, again, thank
19:11
Speaker 1: you to Auditor Foley. You know, I got to say
19:15
Speaker 1: a little bit more about him because I think people really,
19:19
Speaker 1: really appreciate somebody or a group, and it's an elected official,
19:24
Speaker 1: known for efforts to uncover fraud and inefficiencies in government operations.
19:31
Speaker 1: The auditor's key responsibility is basically to provide oversight of
19:36
Speaker 1: public financial operations. It's an elected constitutional office, and they
19:42
Speaker 1: really focus on government transparency, accountability, fiscal responsibility for all
19:47
Speaker 1: taxpayers across the state. And they're known for doing audits.
19:52
Speaker 1: They're known for really looking into accounting standards, waste investigation,
19:57
Speaker 1: and as Auditor Foley said, waste, fraud, and abuse.
20:00
Speaker 2: And that's what they do.
20:01
Speaker 1: Their goal is to promote responsible government. And so I
20:07
Speaker 1: think they really want to assure Nebraskans that their dollars
20:11
Speaker 1: are being managed with accuracy and integrity. And that's what
20:16
Speaker 1: their job is. So he has dug into this. He
20:19
Speaker 1: is passionate about it. You could tell by what he said.
20:23
Speaker 1: This commercial that we played at the beginning has started today.
20:26
Speaker 1: And I think you're going to hear a lot about it.
20:28
Speaker 1: So let us know how you feel about this. Please
20:32
Speaker 1: call us. Like I said earlier, you can call us
20:34
Speaker 1: at 558-1110. You can comment at kfab.com. Or you can
20:39
Speaker 1: leave us a recorded message on the talkback mic. We'll
20:42
Speaker 1: play it on the air. But I really want to
20:43
Speaker 1: hear what you all have to say about this issue too.
20:46
Speaker 1: Gene Stothert, the host of the KFAB Comment Line. My
20:49
Speaker 1: name is Peyton Highlock. Jean, these phones are smoking over here.
20:52
Speaker 4: Oh, good, good, good.
20:53
Speaker 7: We got a full phone queue. Emails are coming in.
20:56
Speaker 7: I think it's time to get some audience reception.
20:59
Speaker 5: Good.
20:59
Speaker 2: And also, what about Lynn Waltz? You know, Lynn Waltz
21:02
Speaker 2: was on yesterday.
21:03
Speaker 1: I wanted to talk a little bit more about that today,
21:05
Speaker 1: but want to hear if you have any comments about
21:08
Speaker 1: that interview with her. There was an op-ed that came
21:11
Speaker 1: out in the World Herald yesterday about Lynn Waltz also.
21:16
Speaker 1: and it was signed by some of the state senators.
21:20
Speaker 1: And it was Joni Albrecht, Tom Brewer, and Steve Erdman,
21:25
Speaker 1: and Kathleen Kauth. And it was titled, We Served with
21:29
Speaker 1: Lynn Waltz in the Nebraska Legislature, and She is No Moderate.
21:33
Speaker 1: That was an op-ed that came out in the World
21:35
Speaker 1: Herald yesterday. So we can talk about that, but you
21:39
Speaker 1: probably have a lot of questions from yesterday and today,
21:42
Speaker 1: and I think we'll just open up the lines and
21:44
Speaker 1: let Peyton.
21:45
Speaker 2: Bring some of these comments on.
21:47
Speaker 3: Absolutely, Jean.
21:48
Speaker 7: And I just want to make something very clear here.
21:51
Speaker 7: 402-558-1110 or comment at kfab.com. I think Nick sends an email,
21:58
Speaker 7: and I think he makes a really good point that
21:59
Speaker 7: I think is important to consider. When it comes to gambling, well,
22:05
Speaker 7: he said, great interview from Auditor Foley. When it comes
22:08
Speaker 7: to gambling, the house always wins. In this case, the
22:13
Speaker 7: house isn't even located in Nebraska. I think that's a
22:17
Speaker 7: good bow to wrap on top.
22:19
Speaker 2: I think it is, too.
22:20
Speaker 1: And, you know, I've read that fine print on this
22:22
Speaker 1: brochure that we all have received several times on the air.
22:26
Speaker 1: And it's sourced on there, this Eilers and Kraycheck Gaming.
22:30
Speaker 1: And when you look them up, like you said, they're
22:33
Speaker 1: in New York and they're in Boston, right? And this
22:38
Speaker 1: is just based on market projections over 10 years. So
22:44
Speaker 1: they are basically saying, we're out of state, but we're
22:47
Speaker 1: going to tell you in Nebraska how this is going
22:50
Speaker 1: to be used and how much revenue it's going to
22:52
Speaker 1: come in. And I call baloney on it because it
22:55
Speaker 1: is not true. Now there's a commercial. I heard it
22:57
Speaker 1: on this station. There's two women talking, and it's, have
23:01
Speaker 1: you heard of 440 and 441? Oh, you mean that's
23:05
Speaker 1: all I have to do is vote for it and
23:06
Speaker 1: my property taxes will go down?
23:08
Speaker 2: Well, yes, that's all you have to do. That's a lie, folks.
23:12
Speaker 1: I mean, like I said, these commercials are trying to
23:14
Speaker 1: confuse you and get you to vote on something. And
23:18
Speaker 1: they're not telling the truth. And I am so glad
23:20
Speaker 1: somebody like Mike Foley is taking this and others. And
23:25
Speaker 1: they have met. They held a press conference. And they said,
23:28
Speaker 1: we're fighting back because we want the taxpayers in Nebraska
23:31
Speaker 1: to understand they're not voting for $ 166 million in property
23:35
Speaker 1: tax relief.
23:36
Speaker 7: The phone lines we go, the lines are full. So
23:38
Speaker 7: let's hit Karen, 402-558-1110. Karen, you are live with Jean
23:43
Speaker 7: Stothert on the KFAB Comment Line.
23:45
Speaker 2: Good morning.
23:46
Speaker 3: Yes.
23:47
Speaker 5: Yes. First of all, great interview with Mr. Foley. I
23:51
Speaker 5: think this is very clear that we are going to
23:56
Speaker 5: be the losers today. And people come in from out
24:01
Speaker 5: of town. They make all kinds of promises.
24:05
Speaker 3: They leave with our money.
24:06
Speaker 5: And the wreckage left behind of what gambling corrupts is
24:12
Speaker 5: going to be our deficit. And thank you for putting
24:17
Speaker 5: this on today. This really makes the issue a lot
24:22
Speaker 5: more clear because they're bombarding us with ads that are lies.
24:28
Speaker 2: Absolutely, Karen.
24:29
Speaker 1: And again, remember, casinos promised to alleviate property taxes six
24:35
Speaker 1: years ago.
24:36
Speaker 2: I'm still waiting, and I'm sure you are too. That
24:40
Speaker 2: didn't happen.
24:42
Speaker 5: Yeah, the tabulation on how much everybody would save is
24:47
Speaker 5: just like they said, like $ 6 or $ 8 savings. It's ridiculous.
24:54
Speaker 2: I agree. I mean, that's how I agree. And I
24:57
Speaker 2: thank you for the call.
24:59
Speaker 1: And I hope somebody calls in that doesn't agree with
25:02
Speaker 1: us because I want to hear their point of view too.
25:04
Speaker 2: But Karen, thank you for calling.
25:07
Speaker 7: On to the next we go. Bill, thank you so
25:09
Speaker 7: much for calling in. You're live with Gene Stothert here
25:11
Speaker 7: on KFAB. Good morning.
25:13
Speaker 8: Yeah, thanks for taking my call. I just want to comment,
25:17
Speaker 8: and another kudos to you on having Auditor Foley on there.
25:22
Speaker 8: I actually live just across the river in Iowa, and
25:25
Speaker 8: when I heard the commercials and I've seen the propaganda
25:28
Speaker 8: about Nebraska being able to get their property taxes lowered,
25:33
Speaker 8: I thought, what a concept. I really thought that was
25:36
Speaker 8: a good idea, but after listening to Auditor Foley this morning...
25:40
Speaker 8: I totally get it. You know, $ 140 million over 10 years,
25:45
Speaker 8: it should be $ 140 million a year, whatever.
25:49
Speaker 6: That's nothing.
25:50
Speaker 8: And when you go to these casinos, and I'm a gambler,
25:53
Speaker 8: I do visit the casinos, and you know what else
25:56
Speaker 8: you see?
25:56
Speaker 6: You see a lot of seniors that are spending their retirement,
26:00
Speaker 6: or you see a lot of people that you know
26:03
Speaker 6: are struggling in life and they're hoping to get the
26:05
Speaker 6: big one. So that just puts more people on the
26:09
Speaker 6: on the, you know, social roles that need help down
26:13
Speaker 6: the line.
26:13
Speaker 8: So you just got to remember Vegas was not built
26:17
Speaker 8: with winners and, uh, only spend what you can afford
26:22
Speaker 8: to spend. And, and what a great interview.
26:24
Speaker 3: And I hope that you, that.
26:26
Speaker 8: That they get the, they don't get this past because
26:29
Speaker 8: it's nothing but trouble and for years to come.
26:33
Speaker 2: Well, thank you, Bill. I appreciate it.
26:34
Speaker 1: And I know there are responsible people that, like yourself,
26:37
Speaker 1: that like to gamble. I mean, they like the fun
26:39
Speaker 1: of it. They like to play cards. They like to
26:41
Speaker 1: play poker, whatever. So we know that there are those
26:44
Speaker 1: that are responsible. But this online and being able to
26:47
Speaker 1: do it on your cell phone, too, it really just
26:50
Speaker 1: opens up a whole new bag of worms. Because if
26:54
Speaker 1: you're in a casino, boy, those bosses that are walking
26:58
Speaker 1: around all the time, they make sure if you're gambling,
27:00
Speaker 1: you're of age.
27:02
Speaker 5: This....
27:03
Speaker 1: It just opens up a lot more risk because, like
27:07
Speaker 1: I said earlier, they think that about two-thirds of college
27:11
Speaker 1: students have already bet on sports online, and most are
27:15
Speaker 1: not the legal age to do so. Like I said,
27:19
Speaker 1: it opens up a whole different can of worms here
27:21
Speaker 1: that we have to deal with. It's estimated that individuals
27:26
Speaker 1: that are about age 18 to 44 are most likely
27:29
Speaker 1: to be the high-risk problem gamblers. with about 6% of
27:34
Speaker 1: college students losing more than $ 500 a day. $ 500 a
27:42
Speaker 1: day on sports betting online. Those are some statistics. And
27:48
Speaker 1: I mean, boy, this is just can open up. It's
27:51
Speaker 1: almost like an addiction.
27:52
Speaker 2: It is, Jean.
27:53
Speaker 7: And just being transparent here, I did sports bet when
27:57
Speaker 7: I was in college. I was of age myself. But
28:00
Speaker 7: here's what happens. Here's how they get you, okay, if
28:03
Speaker 7: you're not familiar with how this works. So they say,
28:07
Speaker 7: and this goes for all online sports betting. It's not
28:09
Speaker 7: just one company or another. You upload $ 5 into your
28:14
Speaker 7: betting account. Create an account. You put $ 5 in. And
28:18
Speaker 7: what we'll do is we'll give you $ 200 that you
28:20
Speaker 7: can bet with. You can't withdraw that $ 200 and keep
28:24
Speaker 7: it and put it in your bank account.
28:25
Speaker 4: No, no, no.
28:25
Speaker 7: It stays in the account. So what happens is you,
28:28
Speaker 7: you bet and now you have $ 205. Only five of
28:32
Speaker 7: it is your money, but you can go bet.
28:34
Speaker 2: Okay.
28:35
Speaker 7: And after betting $ 200.
28:37
Speaker 2: They got you hooked.
28:39
Speaker 7: That's the, that's the, the gateway in is because now
28:41
Speaker 7: you got this money that you bet with and maybe
28:45
Speaker 7: you won, probably you lost, but now you're, you're kind.
28:48
Speaker 2: Of hooked on it and you go, wait, wait, wait, wait.
28:49
Speaker 3: Okay.
28:50
Speaker 7: That was just a trial run, you know, a little
28:52
Speaker 7: rough draft. Now I, can put my money and I'm
28:54
Speaker 7: experienced and I get it. And then you're sucked in.
28:56
Speaker 1: And then, yeah, then you're, you know, there was an
28:59
Speaker 1: expose on CBS and they detailed how sports betting, they
29:03
Speaker 1: called it the next opioid, opioid crisis.
29:07
Speaker 2: Because it's so addictive.
29:09
Speaker 1: And so, you know, mobile sports betting allows betting on
29:13
Speaker 1: basically every action in the game as fast as a
29:16
Speaker 1: slot machine. And I mean, the higher, higher addiction rates
29:21
Speaker 1: are there. They're right there. So let's hear some more
29:24
Speaker 1: about what you think about what we just talked about.
29:27
Speaker 7: Going to Mark on the phone lines. Mark, thanks for
29:30
Speaker 7: calling into the KFAB comment line. You're live with Jean Sothert.
29:33
Speaker 4: Hi, Mark.
29:33
Speaker 2: Good morning.
29:35
Speaker 4: Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking my call. Yeah, I'm upset.
29:40
Speaker 4: about this whole thing, and I really appreciate you. Mike
29:43
Speaker 4: Foley bringing this to light and calling them what they are, liars.
29:47
Speaker 4: They're liars from New York and Boston, and they want
29:51
Speaker 4: to take almost a billion dollars out of this state
29:54
Speaker 4: in 10 years. That's crazy talk. And something that I
29:59
Speaker 4: kind of remember from quite a few years ago, wasn't
30:03
Speaker 4: there a UNL I can't remember if it was football
30:08
Speaker 4: or some other sport that was caught betting on a
30:12
Speaker 4: game that he or she was in. And they got
30:15
Speaker 4: in big trouble for that. And if you have this
30:18
Speaker 4: kind of gambling going on on everybody's phone, that's just
30:22
Speaker 4: going to increase the desire of these young people. sports
30:27
Speaker 4: players in Nebraska to bet on those games. And, you know,
30:31
Speaker 4: if you've got money on a team and maybe you
30:36
Speaker 4: bet against your team, maybe you're not going to try
30:39
Speaker 4: quite so hard to catch that football or to block
30:43
Speaker 4: that person coming at your quarterback.
30:47
Speaker 2: Absolutely, that is true. I don't know. Peyton, did you
30:50
Speaker 2: find anything?
30:51
Speaker 7: Yes, this was a former Nebraska basketball player He played
30:56
Speaker 7: for the Cornhuskers the 2019-2020 season, one year with the Cornhuskers,
31:01
Speaker 7: and then he transferred to Lane. And this basketball game
31:07
Speaker 7: fixing that he was doing, quote-unquote, it's, I don't think, oh,
31:11
Speaker 7: he has been charged, so it's still kind of developing.
31:15
Speaker 7: But this recently came out, I think, around January. It's
31:17
Speaker 7: been about 10 months or so, but yeah.
31:20
Speaker 5: Yeah.
31:20
Speaker 1: Mike Foley just said, he said there's a lot of
31:23
Speaker 1: evidence that these younger athletes are betting on their own teams. And,
31:28
Speaker 1: you know, some of that advertising out there, they even
31:31
Speaker 1: have claims of risk-free bets, and that is just to
31:35
Speaker 1: entice users to join their platform.
31:38
Speaker 2: And they are not risk-free.
31:40
Speaker 7: And I think the only thing that I would maybe
31:43
Speaker 7: slightly disagree with Auditor Foley on is when it comes
31:46
Speaker 7: to the added pressure– on the athletes. Nebraska football players
31:52
Speaker 7: and the team is still being bet on by any
31:55
Speaker 7: other state that allows it. It still goes. There might
31:59
Speaker 7: be a slight adding of pressure if it's here in Nebraska,
32:03
Speaker 7: but they're already getting bet on. They're already getting pressure.
32:06
Speaker 7: We'll take one more phone call here, and then we've
32:08
Speaker 7: got to take a break. Dave, thanks for holding on
32:10
Speaker 7: for us. You're live here with Gene Stothert on the
32:12
Speaker 7: KFAB Comment Line.
32:13
Speaker 4: Good morning.
32:15
Speaker 2: Good morning. Good morning.
32:20
Speaker 4: Are you there?
32:20
Speaker 7: Having a hard time hearing him. He is not on
32:26
Speaker 7: the line there.
32:26
Speaker 2: That's okay.
32:27
Speaker 7: Try again, Dave, if you can get that figured out here.
32:30
Speaker 7: But this is Gene Stothert in the KFAB Comment Line
32:32
Speaker 7: talking about online sports gambling.
32:35
Speaker 2: That's Prop 440 and 441. 440 and 441. Initiative. Initiative.
32:41
Speaker 7: Thank you.
32:41
Speaker 5: Thank you.
32:42
Speaker 2: Gene Stothert in the KFAB Comment Line. Returning next.
32:45
Speaker 7: Gene Stothert, the host of the KFAB Comment Line. My
32:47
Speaker 7: name is Peyton Heilach. We've gotten a lot of comments
32:50
Speaker 7: today on Initiative 440 and 441 about online sports gambling,
32:56
Speaker 7: sports wagering. I got an email from Christian here, comment
33:01
Speaker 7: at kfab.com. Hey, I believe we should be able to
33:04
Speaker 7: have sports betting. If the issue is out-of-state companies making money, well,
33:11
Speaker 7: what about the companies that are out-of-state start up businesses here?
33:17
Speaker 2: They don't want to do that.
33:19
Speaker 1: I mean, really, their attitude is, why come to Nebraska
33:22
Speaker 1: if I could still influence Nebraska to do these things,
33:26
Speaker 1: and I could still be in New York or Boston
33:29
Speaker 1: making a lot of money in New York and Boston,
33:31
Speaker 1: and I could still make a gazillion dollars from the
33:36
Speaker 1: Nebraska taxpayers, too. I mean, they're doing this all over
33:39
Speaker 1: the country. They're not willing to come into your state
33:44
Speaker 1: and start a business here. They already have a business here.
33:48
Speaker 1: That obviously is very successful, but they are putting a
33:51
Speaker 1: ton of money into each state that they're pushing these.
33:55
Speaker 1: And again, when I heard that commercial on TV or
34:00
Speaker 1: radio of the two women talking to each other, oh,
34:02
Speaker 1: you mean all I have to do is vote yes
34:05
Speaker 1: and I get my property taxes? Yes, that's all you
34:07
Speaker 1: have to do.
34:08
Speaker 2: What a lie.
34:09
Speaker 1: And they're paying for this commercial, these businesses from out
34:13
Speaker 1: of state and trying to mislead Nebraska voters into saying
34:18
Speaker 1: this is what's going to happen.
34:19
Speaker 2: This is the result.
34:21
Speaker 1: If you support online betting and you don't, you know,
34:26
Speaker 1: these things that we talked about don't matter to you,
34:28
Speaker 1: then I would say then vote for it. But don't
34:32
Speaker 1: vote for it because you're thinking you're going to get
34:34
Speaker 1: property tax relief.
34:36
Speaker 7: Wrapping up the KFAB comment line here on a Wednesday. Marie,
34:39
Speaker 7: thanks for calling in. You're live with Jean Stothert.
34:42
Speaker 2: Good morning.
34:44
Speaker 9: Good morning. Don't forget Clay Travis with Buck and Clay.
34:50
Speaker 9: He runs online gaming. He's big in that. But the
34:53
Speaker 9: other side of it, he has a law firm that
34:56
Speaker 9: helps with gambling addiction. So he's got it both ways.
35:00
Speaker 9: And that can be looked up and verified. And he's
35:03
Speaker 9: just one of, and he advertises it all the time,
35:07
Speaker 9: online gaming. Get your sports gaming. $ 200 we'll give you
35:10
Speaker 9: and start off. Well, that's like the heroin addict that
35:13
Speaker 9: gets hooked because the dealer.
35:14
Speaker 3: Started him on it.
35:15
Speaker 4: Well, you know.
35:16
Speaker 9: So that's what's that. No, this is, it's an addiction
35:19
Speaker 9: and we're going to lose a lot of money in
35:20
Speaker 9: this state.
35:22
Speaker 4: A lot of money.
35:22
Speaker 2: You're so right, Marie. And, you know, I did not
35:24
Speaker 2: know that.
35:25
Speaker 1: I listened to Clay and Buck, or Clay and Travis,
35:27
Speaker 1: but I did not realize.
35:30
Speaker 2: Clay Travis, Buck Sexton. Clay Travis, Buck Sexton, yeah. Well,
35:33
Speaker 2: I get those confused all the time.
35:34
Speaker 4: Yeah, I get you.
35:35
Speaker 1: You know those two guys. But I listened to them, too. But,
35:38
Speaker 1: you know, I didn't realize that. So that's really interesting.
35:42
Speaker 1: But it would be, boy, I'd love to have a
35:43
Speaker 1: conversation with him.
35:45
Speaker 2: And Marie is exactly right. She said we could fact
35:47
Speaker 2: check it. And she is 100% right. In closing, I
35:51
Speaker 2: did get an email here from Andrew.
35:52
Speaker 7: It goes on to say, my take is nuisance, nuanced,
35:57
Speaker 7: but if you're going to deal with gambling, there should
35:59
Speaker 7: be funds redirected to help with addiction as well. Mm-hmm.
36:02
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
36:03
Speaker 2: So true, Andrew. I agree with him, too. Is that
36:06
Speaker 2: music playing, meaning this show is over?
36:08
Speaker 5: I know.
36:08
Speaker 2: It's fast.
36:09
Speaker 7: It's fast.
36:09
Speaker 1: Boy, we had a— and, you know, we still, I think,
36:11
Speaker 1: had some emails and some comments about my interview with
36:15
Speaker 1: a candidate for Nebraska Governor, Lynn Waltz, yesterday. We could
36:19
Speaker 1: still take those tomorrow. But thank you so much for
36:22
Speaker 1: being with us today. A lot of information out there. Tomorrow,
36:27
Speaker 1: I am going to have Nate Dodge on from MP Dodge,
36:29
Speaker 1: and he's with the Police Foundation today.
36:31
Speaker 2: And guess what?
36:32
Speaker 1: We're going to talk about the two city bond issues
36:35
Speaker 1: that are on the ballot and that we haven't heard
36:38
Speaker 1: too much about at all. But I've been involved in
36:41
Speaker 1: both of those, so we're going to talk about those tomorrow.
36:43
Speaker 1: We'd love for you to join us. I'm Jean Stothert,
36:47
Speaker 1: and this is 1110 KFAV.