Mesquite is just 37 miles from Utah's burgeoning St. George area. Mesquite figures that about 30 percent of its visitors, and gamblers, come from Utah. That is actually down a bit. In 2000, Mesquite figured that 41 percent of its business came from Utah.

The reason for the percentage drop is interesting: "It's mostly because the percentage of people coming from Las Vegas is up. Las Vegans increasingly view Mesquite as a getaway spot," said Kevin Bagger, research director for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Association, which also works to increase tourism in Mesquite. Las Vegas is 80 miles from Mesquite.

Mesquite City Manager Bryan Montgomery said that even though the overall percentage of his city's business from Utah has dropped, "the number of Utahns is probably higher than before."

He adds, "Visitors from Utah are very important to Mesquite, not just for gaming but also for golf. Those interests here advertise heavily along the Wasatch Front."

The new Morning News poll shows that 39 percent of Utahns have gambled at casinos in Mesquite at one time or another, including 16 percent during the past year.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Association spends $362,000 to advertise Mesquite in Salt Lake City, said Lisa Jacob, spokeswoman for R&R Partners, the advertising agency that handles the work.

Casinos in Mesquite spend much more than that to advertise their own businesses. They did not respond to requests about their advertising budgets.

In 2004, Mesquite reported more than 1.7 million visitors — and figured that 86 percent of them gambled during their stays. They spent $122 million on gambling, a 9 percent increase from 2003.

Mesquite figures that the average visitor spends $216 in gambling per stay — and just $53 on food and drink, $7.31 for transportation and $7 for recreational activities.

Mesquite — which began its existence as a small LDS farming community — has boomed since the first casinos opened there in the early 1980s. Mesquite has grown from a mere 922 people in 1980 to 17,000 today.

LAS VEGAS

A study for West Wendover, Nev., found that Salt Lakers spend about a quarter of their gambling money in Las Vegas — or likely more than $60 million a year there. While Las Vegas is not on a Utah border, it is close — only about 117 miles from St. George.

The new Morning News poll shows that 54 percent of Utahns have gambled in Las Vegas at one time or another, including 16 percent during the past year. Las Vegas, with its glitzy Strip and high-end hotel/casinos, is the only venue that has persuaded a majority of Utahns to gamble there sometime.