Little change seen in Nevada gaming regulation with DuCharme departure

David Strow

Monday, Nov. 20, 2000 | 11:19 a.m.

Despite the loss of respected Chairman Steve DuCharme, gaming industry observers and former regulators expect little substantive change in Nevada's Gaming Control Board.

DuCharme will retire from the board on Jan. 1, and a replacement hasn't been named yet. However, the favorite to be appointed to the board is believed to be Scott Scherer, Gov. Kenny Guinn's chief of staff.

Scherer said he hasn't been asked by the governor if he wants the position of chairman of the gaming board, but said "it's a job I would want."

"I certainly would do it if that's what the governor felt was in the best interests of the state," Scherer said. "It fits my background and strengths well. But it's something that's completely his (Guinn's) decision.

"He certainly hasn't made any decision yet."

No matter who assumes the title of chairman, however, observers say stability should be the watchword.

"One reason Nevada has grown and prospered (with its gaming industry) is because the direction of the board doesn't change when a leader changes," said Bill Curran, Las Vegas attorney and former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. "That's why Wall Street and others are willing to make major investments in Nevada, because they understand regulation in Nevada has to be outside the political process. Investors will not risk billions of dollars on projects if they thought there were going to be new administrations and appointments that would jeopardize ... their investment.

"It's a professional agency, not a political agency, and that's why governors have a hands-off approach."

When DuCharme was appointed as chairman in 1998 by Gov. Bob Miller, he brought a different approach than his successor, Bill Bible. DuCharme's background was law enforcement, and he spent 20 years with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department before joining the board in 1991.

DuCharme's reputation is "meticulous," said Bill Thompson, UNLV professor of public administration. Once, while Thompson and DuCharme were visiting a casino, DuCharme would even refuse complimentary cups of coffee, Thompson said.

"There's never been any question of integrity (with DuCharme)," Thompson said. "He's very calm, very reasoned, very meticulous, doesn't rush to judgment."

DuCharme also helped boost the prestige of the state's gaming regulatory system, Curran said.

"I know gaming regulators from around the world, and Steve is very highly regarded," Curran said. "He's a great guy, and there isn't a gaming regulator in the world who would tell you any differently."

As a possible successor as chairman, Scherer is widely viewed as very similar in background to Bible, with a background in government and the law.

"Scherer is probably going to be more similar to Bill Bible," said Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno. "But I wouldn't expect a tremendous change. The broader issue with Nevada regulation is that, over the last 15 years, beginning with Bible, it has become considerably more professional and bureaucratic. I would expect to see Scott Scherer continue in that vein.

"My interaction with him (Scherer) has been pretty favorable. He's pretty level-headed, intelligent, not overly political."

"He's an incredibly bright young man, an excellent choice if that's the way they want to go," DuCharme said. "He served as deputy attorney general for the gaming control board, he authored the (gaming) statutes and regulations in Mississippi. He has administrative experience, and would certainly be a viable candidate."

Shannon Bybee, executive director of UNLV's International Gaming Institute, believes that Scherer is the logical front-runner to be chairman.

"My guess is that it's Scott's if he wants it," Bybee said. But he also believes that Bobby Siller, named to the control board by Guinn in 1999, should not be ruled out as a candidate. Prior to joining the board, Siller was the agent in charge of the Las Vegas office of the FBI.

"(Siller) is a definite possibility," Bybee said. "Bobby was appointed by Guinn. He had the reputation, he had status and stature, and ... to have a minority in that important position would be a landmark kind of thing.

"Bobby is certainly a professional and that would be received well throughout the world."

When the board splits in its votes, the dissenting vote is almost always cast by Siller, who has pushed for tougher limits on slot machine machine themes and the placement of slot machines in locations where children could be exposed to them. Siller also occasionally dissented with other board members on suitability hearings, voting against license applications when DuCharme and Dennis Neilander were willing to grant temporary licenses or permit an applicant to withdraw.

"A policeman's position is more cynical by training," DuCharme said. "That's the heavy hammer position. That just goes with your background and training.

"Your life experience modifies your behavior. I was the no vote to the other two yes votes for years."

Yet DuCharme's appointment didn't signal a sudden shift in the strictness of the control board. Observers say it's unlikely the appointment of Scherer -- or even the appointment of Siller -- as chairman would tip the balance toward a stricter board.

"I think he (Scherer) will be very pro-gaming, probably a legal technician," Thompson said. "He's a lawyer; Steve wasn't. I don't think any heads will roll. I think it will be business as usual."

Besides, regulators can change in their approaches, Bybee said. When Bybee served on the board from 1971 to 1975, he estimates he was the one proposing license denials "probably 98 to 99 percent of the time."

"Sometimes you can take a stronger position just so people will say, 'We'd better be careful, we know it's not going to be easy to get two votes,"' Bybee said. "You'll find in the dynamics of these situations ... that it's easier to take a strong position when you know your vote isn't going to cause (a license application) to fail.

"(The direction of the board) depends on who takes over, but I think you'll find that even Bobby will moderate somewhat."

And where would Scherer go as chairman? Scherer said it wouldn't be appropriate to speculate.

"I haven't really given it a lot of thought," Scherer said. "I don't think it would be radically different, but I'm sure there would be some differences, as there always are among individuals."

As for the outgoing chairman, the 53-year-old DuCharme said he still hasn't decided what he'll be doing next.

"I have absolutely no plans for any future employment," DuCharme said. "I guess I'm way too young to totally retire. After a few months off, maybe I'll explore some possible opportunities."