THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602180049
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: By MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Legalizing a lottery in North Carolina would be approved by most voters, but casino gambling remains a no-no, according to a Mason-Dixon poll.
A state lottery - a hot potato so far rejected by the General Assembly - is supported by 60 percent of those questioned in the political survey recently released. The approval rating has dropped from what it was a year ago.
In 1995, 72 percent of North Carolinians queried said they would back a Virginia-style form of legalized gambling.
``Lottery approval continues to fluctuate, and 29 percent are now opposed to this form of gambling compared with 25 percent opposed in February of 1995,'' said Brad Coker, director of the Mason-Dixon Media Research polling firm.
Virginia lottery officials in Richmond estimate that North Carolinians drive across the state line to buy $75 million in lottery tickets each year.
``That's about 8 percent of our total annual sales, and about half of the money would would be paid back in prizes,'' said a Lotto spokesperson in Richmond.
Efforts to get a lottery bill through the North Carolina legislature have consistently failed amid often testy debate. One of the most recent proposals, which had the support of state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, the president pro-tem of the state Senate, called for a statewide referendum to decide the issue, but it, too, failed.
Sixty-one percent of northeastern North Carolina voters, who buy most of the Virginia tickets sold to Carolinians, now support legalizing the lottery so they could spend the gambling money in their home state.
Blacks and whites were in close agreement on the lottery, with 60 percent of the whites and 59 percent of the African-Americans calling it a good idea.
Women voters were less inclined to favor a lottery - 55 percent - compared with 65 percent of the men.
North Carolinians still oppose casino-type gambling where bettors could play games such as blackjack and poker. But that percentage has dropped from 64 percent in 1995 to 58 percent in the most recent survey, Coker said.
Carrying concealed guns, now allowed with a permit in North Carolina, got mixed reviews: 49 percent disapproved; 37 percent thought it was OK.
On a political note, Richard Petty, the racing Republican in the rodeo hat, would make a good Secretary of State, many voters said.
Petty got a 45 percent approval rating in the Mason-Dixon poll, compared with 23 percent for Democratic incumbent Rufus Edmisten. Edmisten recently got into hot water over playing favorites for some job seekers and using state-employed help for household chores.
On a national issue, 51 percent said they thought the Republican Congress had better management ideas than President Clinton.
The Mason-Dixon survey polled 844 registered voters and was conducted earlier this month, Coker said. Women in the survey numbered 426 and men, 418. Democrats numbered 491; Republicans, 280; and independents, 73.
Coker said the poll was conducted under a statistical formula designed to give a 95 percent probability that the results would be the same if the entire population were sampled. by CNB