To try to expand its base away from Utah, West Wendover casinos have started a program to fly in high rollers from other states for free. Ironically, they fly into an airport on the Utah side of the border.

Such incentives helped Elko County, where West Wendover is located, bring in $232.4 million in gambling last year, according to the Nevada Gaming Commission. That does not include additional money from hotel rooms, restaurants, gas stations and other tourism-related businesses.

Of note, a 2004 survey by Harrah's, a casino company, estimated that 402,000 Utahns visited casinos during 2003 — or 27 percent of the population over age 21. It said they made nearly 1.5 million trips out of state to casinos that year. That was high enough for the Salt Lake metro area to rank No. 44 among the nation's cities for generating casino trips.

Stephen Perry, mayor of Wendover, Utah, where gambling is not allowed, envies all that money spent just over the state line from his city. He owns a motel on the Utah side and says that even though his rates are cheaper than in West Wendover, "people choose to spend more there anyway to be closer to the casinos."

He said gambling in West Wendover causes crime and social ills in both Wendovers. But he said West Wendover retains all the gambling money that could help handle such ills, while the Utah side of town struggles.

"We have the same extra crime, and things like extra drunken driving. Their (West Wendover's) police department has a staff of 25 with all kinds of clerks and a chief. We, however, have a staff of five. If it weren't for (gambling) in West Wendover, we would probably only need a staff of one," he said.

Making it even tougher for Wendover, Utah, to survive is that Perry says most of its residents have abandoned the Utah side over time to live in Nevada — it charges no state income taxes because of its gaming revenues.

"I think about 50 percent of the people who live in West Wendover lived on the Utah side at one time or another, but moved to get away from income tax. Also, if you live in Utah but work in Nevada, you pay income tax on that money. . . . In fact, if you live in Nevada and work in Utah, Utah also charges you income tax. People try to escape that," he says.

Perry says Wendover, Utah, petitioned the Utah Legislature to allow gambling there to put it on even footing with West Wendover, but the proposal never progressed. Congress has also considered annexing Wendover, Utah, into Nevada, but that idea has stalled.

MESQUITE, NEV.