LV lawyer named gaming chairman

Brendan Riley

Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2001 | 9:30 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Ending a longtime north-south balance on the Nevada Gaming Commission, Gov. Kenny Guinn on Monday named Las Vegas lawyer Peter Bernhard as chairman of the powerful panel.

With Bernhard's appointment, the Gaming Commission for the first time has four members from the Las Vegas area. Until now, there had never been more than three, with the other two coming from northern Nevada.

Bernhard is quitting as chairman of the state Ethics Commission to complete the remaining 19 months of Reno lawyer Brian Sandoval's four-year term on the Gaming Commission. Sandoval quit Aug. 1 for an expected run for attorney general.

The Republican governor said Bernhard, 52, a Democrat, will take over immediately as chairman of the panel overseeing Nevada's multi-billion-dollar casino industry.

Guinn noted Bernhard, who was raised in Las Vegas, is a graduate of Harvard University and George Washington Law School and has more than 20 years of experience practicing law.

Bernhard said he looked forward to working with other commissioners and with the panel's investigative and enforcement arm, the state Gaming Control Board.

He said the state's gambling industry has suffered from a tourism slump following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast, but added he's confident that "Nevada will rebound quickly."

In early August Guinn had said he planned to appoint a lawyer from northern Nevada to maintain a 3-2 geographical balance with the Las Vegas-area members.