UNLV group to hold casino stock; Rebel bets canceled

David Strow

Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002 | 10:46 a.m.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas' fund-raising organization will soon have a small stake in Jackie Gaughan's three downtown Las Vegas casinos -- and, as a result, those casinos will no longer accept bets on UNLV.

On Wednesday the Nevada Gaming Control Board approved the donation of $100,000 in stock in Exber Inc., Gaughan's casino company, to the UNLV Foundation. Rather than selling the stake, the UNLV Foundation will hold the stock and be entitled to receive profit distributions from it.

Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said it was the first time he could recall such a donation had been made in Nevada.

If the board's decision is upheld by the Nevada Gaming Commission later this month, the foundation will receive a 10 percent stake in the Mel Exber Family Trust, which in turn owns slightly more than 6.5 percent of Exber. Mel Exber is Gaughan's partner in Exber Inc.

The UNLV Foundation is technically not a part of the university, but is an independent nonprofit organization that accepts and distributes gifts made to the university.

But it raised a ticklish issue for regulators. Last year, the commission authorized Nevada's sports books to accept bets on UNLV and University of Nevada, Reno athletic events. Exber's three downtown Las Vegas casinos -- the El Cortez, the Las Vegas Club and the Western -- all accept those bets.

With the transfer, that meant an affiliate of UNLV would, in effect, be profiting from betting on UNLV teams. That isn't banned by Nevada's gaming regulations, but board members feared it could be a public relations fiasco for Nevada.

"This really doesn't look right," Neilander said. "Legally, there's no way to control it, but there's a perception issue."

To clear the way for the donation, Exber officials said they would drop all betting on UNLV teams at its casinos for as long as the UNLV Foundation held a stake in Exber.

"We certainly do not want to create an issue for the state of Nevada," Exber attorney Bud Hicks said.

Brady Exber, trustee of the family trust and an executive with Exber, said the donation was made at the request of his father, Mel Exber.

"It's a wish my dad has had for a number of years," Exber said. "My dad loves sports, and he wanted to do something for the university."