With education accounting for the biggest share of the state budget and the gaming industry the biggest share of state revenues, the 2 groups are inevitably at odds every 2 years as the legislature meets.

Frustrated with what they see as the lawmakers inability to give the state's schools adequate funding, the teachers are going directly to the people with an initiative petition proposing to raise the gaming tax 3 points, the new money going to education.

Polling and conventional wisdom indicates that if the initiative makes it on the ballot, it's an odds on favorite to pass. That is one reason why the gaming industry has launched a PR campaign to make their case that the increase would cripple the state's largest industry and mount a legal challenge to the petition itself. Their latest strategy is direct negotiations between the two.

"We were approached by and agreed to sit down with members of the gaming community to talk about ways of funding schools in Nevada," says President Lynn Warne of the Nevada State Education Association. "They recognize there's inadequate funding and they want to do something about it."

Warne says only that ideas have been proposed, but there's nothing on the table yet. In any case, the petition drive continues.

"We are moving forward gathering signatures. We are finding it an easy conversation and that confirms what our polling has told us--that three quarters of the public supports our efforts to get better funding for our schools."