A few months ago I listed the myriad things that you need to disclose when applying for a non-restricted casino license. Apparently Chet and Karla Cox aren’t regular readers, because they applied for a license without getting an attorney, and hit a few roadblocks. From the LV Sun:
Although Silver State would handle the filling, emptying and repairing of slot machines, regulatory reporting and player disputes would fall to the Coxes’ son, a college graduate with construction experience but little gaming experience.
Though C.J. Cox pledged to be on call at all hours, board member Randy Sayre said the young man still would be operating “under a learner’s permit.”
Clayton, noting that third-party operator Golden Gaming had been running the Coxes’ slot machines for more than a decade, raised another key question about the couple’s proposal.
“If the experience hasn’t been learned over the past 14 years, how can we be comforted that it is going to be learned in the next couple of years under this arrangement?” Clayton asked.
The Coxes also made omissions and mistakes on their license application.
The errors seemed innocent enough. They failed, for example, to disclose lawsuits that gas station managers handled and forwarded directly to insurance carriers without involving the Coxes.
They also neglected to mention a property they owned: a home inhabited by Chet’s mother that, for all intents and purposes, belonged to her even though it was in her son’s name. Then there was the fact that their company hadn’t notified Clark County’s Business License Department when it began operating slots at gas stations. And the Coxes also erred when they transferred ownership of a location without first seeking the board’s approval.
After receiving multiple notices from the board regarding the problems, the Coxes hired a gaming attorney midway through the licensing process to correct the mistakes and patch things up with regulators.
Mom and pop roughed up in gaming license bid – Las Vegas Sun
This has been a real week for me hearing about the license process. Last Friday, I was on a panel with former GCB member Bobby Siller, who talked about his time on the Board and his role in the licensing process. Mr. Siller is a great guy who, as I was flattered to learn, had actually read some of my work. That’s gratifying because I’ve been a big fan of his for years–to the extent that you can be a fan of a state regulator. Talking with him for a few minutes reminded me why–he has a real sense for the big picture of Nevada regulation, which is about more than statues and minimum internal control standards–it’s about the net effect on the community. Super nice guy, too, but I wouldn’t want to walk into a GCB hearing unprepared on his watch.
Then on Tuesday I moderated a panel with current GCB member Randy Sayre, who gave his perspective on the process. Member Sayre (I learned that’s what you call GCB members, particularly in a juridicial context) has had a 27-year career with the GCB, and had pinpoint accuracy on a wide range of administrative and regulatory issues.
After a question about reciprocity between the gaming boards of various states, I hit Member Sayre with a follow up: What about Columbia Sussex, which has been denied a license in one jurisdiction and is scuttling quickly out of at least one more?
Sayre responded that the GCB was taking the issue seriously, and that there was a process for determining if another state’s license denial was justified or unjustified. There’s been a history of Nevada allowing licensees that New Jersey has denied–Hilton Hotels (circa 1985) & Caesars World (circa 1979), for example. As one 1 of 8 people (3 GCB members, 5 Gaming Commission members) in the process, Member Sayre wasn’t about to publicly talk about the specifics of the case before the process was finished. Likewise, without having access to the material that they do, I can’t say whether the GCB should make a recommendation one way or the other–though I think it’s certainly worth investigating. I get the sense that this is going to be a process that is ultimately fair to everyone, particularly the people of Nevada.
With tax season just behind us (unless you got an extension), many of us feel intruded upon. But trust me–you’ve got nothing on people who need to go before the GCB and get (or keep) a gaming license.
