Editorial: Don’t tinker with gaming regulations

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2001 | 9:30 a.m.

Gary Loveman, chief operating officer of Harrah's Entertainment Inc., expressed his frustration the other day with what he considers to be an overly intrusive investigation into his private life by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Loveman, who has held his position for three years, is only now being scrutinized for suitability to hold a gaming license. Last Thursday a control board agent came to the office of the former Harvard economics professor and took three years' worth of personal correspondence without explaining why it was needed.

Loveman believes that in today's world, where the gaming industry is mostly in the hands of publicly traded corporations, such intense scrutiny of gaming executives is overkill. We sympathize with the professor, but a reading of Las Vegas history would show that it is very tight, even intrusive, state regulation that eliminated organized crime from casino management and prevents it from coming back. Keeping a close watch on both the employees and the games gives both Wall Street casino investors and gamblers confidence that everything is above board, and keeps the gaming industry, the economic engine of our community, humming along.

Nevada's gaming regulation is viewed as the model for states that have permitted gambling or are considering doing so. It is a model that works, and it shouldn't be tinkered with.