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HELLER MAY HOLD THE KEY TO LEGALIZATION OF ONLINE POKER IN BUSINESS ONLINE GAMING By Karoun Demirjian staff writer R team. eports that Sens. Harry Reid and Jon Kyl are inching closer to a deal on legalizing online poker have heads turning toward Nevada's junior senator, Republican Dean Heller, to see if he will be able to help close the deal. "We need to do something to make it fair," Reid said July 19. "Now we're looking, as with a lot of things around here, for some Republican support." Heller is one of only a handful of senators privy to the embryonic deal developed between Reid and Kyl, which has yet to surface as a draft document or designate a legislative vehicle to go through Congress. "They're trying to discuss the vehicle on how they'll push this forward, but they haven't decided at stakes couldn't be this point," Heller said. "So a lot of discussion going on, not a lot of answers." The higher for Heller. Bring along a bunch of Republican senators, especially before the election, and he can claim credit for a big win — perhaps the most important gift the federal government could give to the state's economy. But fail, and the state loses. The Republican Party hasn't histori- COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE OFFICE RENTS DIP TO SEVEN-YEAR LOW, VACANCY RATES UP By Steve Green senior staff writer I foot to $21.62 — the lowest asked since the third quarter of 2005. n a market still suffering from bank- ruptcies and loan defaults, commercial real estate vacancies remain elevated in the Las Vegas area. Newly released second-quarter statis- tics from brokerages show industrial and warehouse vacancies running at about 15 percent, retail vacancies at about 11 percent and office vacancies at about 23.5 percent. statistics in each sector, with some say- ing the local retail sector is improving and the industrial submarket is holding its own. While Commerce Real Estate Solu- tions calculated the local office vacancy rate had declined from 24.4 percent to 23.9 percent, it confirmed rents fell for the seventh consecutive quarter to $1.84 per square foot on a monthly basis. Commerce said the local medical of- fice market is suffering as fewer resi- dents are seeking medical care because Brokerages offered slightly different many don't have insurance. As a result, doctors and clinics need less space. Va- cancies in this sector rose from 19.3 per- cent to 19.6 percent, the firm said. The new data suggest the local office market deteriorated in the quarter as rents requested by landlords dipped to a seven-year low. Frank put Brokerage Newmark Grubb Knight the second-quarter office vacancy rate locally at 23.5 percent, up from 23.4 percent in the first quarter. It said these percentages are in record- high territory and that asking rent on an annual basis fell from $21.76 per square | 30 JULY 2012 | Colliers International, in its quarterly report, said office vacancies declined from 24.1 percent to 23.7 percent. Asking rents have steadily declined from $2.01 per square foot a month last year to $1.90 this year, Colliers said. Elsewhere, Colliers put the local retail vacancy rate at 11.1 percent during the quarter, down from 11.5 percent during the first quarter. That's an improvement, but it's still up 8 percentage points from the 3.1 percent 11 vacancy rate seen at the start of the re- cession in the fourth quarter of 2007, Colliers' statistics show. Colliers also said industrial vacancies of 15.3 percent were even with the first quarter. Commerce Real Estate Solutions said industrial vacancies fell from 15.6 percent to 14.9 percent — the first time since 2009 that the rate has been under 15 percent, according to its calculations. "The industrial vacancy is anticipated to gradually come down as the national and local economy start to show signs of improvement," Commerce said. ALL IN: Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., says there's no time for failed attempts to pass online poker legislation. "I do believe if we don't do something by the end of the year, it will be too late," he said. cally warmed to the idea of legalizing online poker. Nevada representatives, coming from the biggest gambling bas- tion in the country, have stepped into the role — but have never been successful. Heller would be the first to say there's no time for more failed attempts. "Time's running out," he said. "If we get beyond this year, I think states will members of the Republican leadership may also be what sells. LEILA NAVIDI Nor did he share any ideas for how new political deals could be struck that would advance legalization. But Heller is striking a unique, potentially compel- ling-to-Republicans tone when it comes to the politics of the situation. In the past several months, Reid has frequently referred to the indictments of bad-actor companies, the prolifera- tion of states legalizing their own in- ternal gaming outfits, and the need for fairness as urgent, compelling reasons to support an online poker legaliza- tion. If he's blamed anyone, it's been the Republican drafters of a 2006 bill that made online poker illegal in the first place. Heller backs Reid's legislative efforts, but he's picked a different scapegoat: the Obama administration. have gone so far, too far, in their efforts to legalize everything ... that I do believe if we don't do something by the end of the year, it will be too late." So far, Heller hasn't been clear about his role — though he did say he has been talking poker with Sens. Mitch McCon- nell, John Cornyn and Roy Blunt — all "I think this all started last year when New York and Illinois convinced the administration to change the Wire Act," Heller said, saying Congress had to tighten the rules regulating Internet gaming before more states put lotteries and other non-poker ventures online. His historical hindsight may be a lit- tle near-sighted. But for Republicans, it