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Bugsy Siegel was the guy who turned Las Vegas, Nev., into the gambling mecca it is today. He did pretty much what he wanted in what was then pretty much trackless desert. Made a bunch of money. Built a casino or two. Finally got killed for his trouble.

Now it looks like the Legislature and governor are about to pass and sign a new gambling compact with 10 of 13 tribes that installs regulation, oversight and policing of the gambling industry on a level that would make Bugsy drool.

Our office holders seem busy figuring out how to spend the extra $600 million the new deal will bring in. Too busy to also worry about money laundering, embezzlement, slot fixing and other fun stuff known to occur around a high-volume, all-cash business.

One of the few people who seems to care about the social impact of gambling, such as the parents who leave their kids in the car at midnight to play the slots, is a guy named Guy Clark.

Clark has been objecting ever since Indian gambling looked like it was coming to town. Clark, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Gambling, doesn't think much of gambling.

But if we are going to tolerate it, he would like to see it regulated efficiently. The benefits are obvious. First you help the tribes understand the potentially nasty business they're in. You show them how to minimize criminal elements, treat addicts and help their neighbors cope with and pay for the police, fire, roads and traffic control gambling enterprises demand.

It's pretty hard to blame the tribes for embracing an industry that has finally gotten them a pot of money and a bit of respect from the business and political communities. But it makes sense to have someone police it other than the people who are making lots of money from it.

Clark, who is in a position to know, says Arizona has "dozens of regulators who work side by side with tribal regulators." New Mexico has one. For 16 casinos.

Doesn't anyone besides Clark care about this? What's the hurry to pass a bill that has no regulatory protection for either the tribes or the non-Indian public? Sure $600 million is a nice chunk of change. But it will still be there for the taking after a respectable and intelligent regulatory program for Indian gambling in New Mexico is in place.