More delays in new rules on slot machine locations

Brendan Riley

Friday, June 25, 1999 | 9:54 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Two years in the making, a proposal to restrict slot machines in non-casino locations in Nevada ran into another delay Thursday at a state Gaming Commission meeting.

The proposed regulation was expected to get a final commission vote at the meeting, but the panel opted for a delay until its July 29 meeting in Las Vegas because of wording problems.

Brian Sandoval, the commission chairman, said he doesn't want the rule review to drag on "month after month after month," adding, "We need to come to some finality."

But Sandoval said another month is needed to get an agreement that's clear to regulators, major casinos that favor the restrictions and businesses with a few slots who don't like the proposal.

During Thursday's hearing, critics included representatives of convenience stores, taverns, and other retailers who have slot machines to help bolster their bottom line.

All said the proposed rule wasn't needed, given the regulators' broad powers to regulate Nevada's gambling industry.

Bud Hicks, representing the Nevada Retail Gaming Association, said the rules are unfair to small businesses in the state, adding, "They're just eyewash, and they don't have any substance to them."

Other critics included Dan Meyer of Comstock Games in Reno, who said the plan favors big casinos over "mom and pop" operators like himself.

Bob Faiss of the Nevada Resort Association, representing major hotel-casinos, pressed for adoption of the rules by saying they're "bring clarity and certainty that does not now exist."

Faiss also insisted that the proposal wasn't from the NRA but from commission members Bill Curran and Augie Gurrola.

Under the proposal, slot machines would have to be incidental to the primary business, such as a tavern, or convenience, drug or grocery store.

Also, slots would have to be segregated in alcoves. And automated teller machines couldn't be in the immediate vicinity of the slots. If smoking is allowed in the slot area, good ventilation would be required.

The rule would apply to a business "normally" having at least 1,000 square feet and no more than 10,000 square feet of public space and holding a restricted, slots-only license.