Newest regulator must shed gambling interest

Brendan Riley

Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004 | 8:48 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The newest member of the Nevada Gaming Commission skipped a July meeting and will miss at least the start of an Aug. 26 session -- because he's barred from service until OK'd by the panel to sell his interest in a slot machine venture.

Prominent Las Vegas attorney John T. Moran Jr., named in late June by Gov. Kenny Guinn to the commission, is on the agenda for both the commission and its investigative arm, the state Gaming Control Board, for what should be a routine gambling interest transfer.

The Control Board meets Aug. 11-12 and the commission meets Aug. 26 in Carson City. The interest transfer is required under a state law that blocks commission service for anyone with a direct financial interest or active involvement in a gambling operation.

"I don't think it's an issue," Gaming Commission Chairman Pete Bernhard said Monday. "Once the governor made his appointment, Mr. Moran took all the steps to be qualified to serve, including divesting this interest. I don't think he or the governor can be criticized."

Moran, 57, holds a 10 percent interest in Green Horizons Group LLC, which has five Henderson-based convenience stores with slot machines.

Moran was out of state at a trial and not immediately available for comment on Monday. At the time of his appointment in June, he said his primary objective would be to preserve the integrity of Nevada's multi-billion-dollar gambling industry.

Named by Guinn to replace Augie Gurrola, whose third four-year term expired, Moran also has served on the state Board of Wildlife Commissioners and the Colorado River Commission. A Las Vegas lawyer for more than 25 years, he'll earn $40,000 a year in the part-time Gaming Commission post.

His late father, John Moran, was Clark County sheriff from 1982 until 1994. Moran Jr. worked for one year as a sheriff's deputy before becoming an attorney.

Moran also was part of an investment group that recently was approved to buy the old Sears Building in downtown Las Vegas. The group wants to make it a key element of a proposed entertainment district. His numerous clients have included Stratosphere Gaming Corp.

The Gaming Commission is the policy arm of the state's gambling regulatory apparatus. Together with the Control Board, its enforcement and investigative arm, the commission acts on all gambling industry licensing and policy issues that come before the state.