Panel member might not keep seat

Gov. Jim Gibbons is not expected to reappoint Nevada Gaming Commission member Ray Rawson when his term expires next month, sources said last week.

Rawson, a former state senator, was appointed to the five-member gaming regulatory and policy making panel in 2005 by former Gov. Kenny Guinn to fill an unexpired term. Rawson said Wednesday he was hopeful Gibbons will give him a four-year term on the part-time commission. The job pays $40,000 annually.

"I enjoy the work, it's a fascinating assignment and I believe I have been a good commissioner," Rawson said. "It is the governor's decision. I understand that. I do think it would be good for the gaming industry to keep a stable board."

Gibbons chief of staff Mike Dayton said the governor would meet with his advisers this week to discuss several pending state agency appointments. The Gaming Commission position was one of the discussion topics. Dayton said Rawson expressed an interest in remaining on the panel. Rawson is the only commission member whose term expires this year.

Political and gaming sources said it was unlikely Gibbons would reappoint Rawson. No replacement names were mentioned.

Gibbons made a mark on gaming regulation early in his term. Soon after a midnight swearing-in ceremony in January 2007, Gibbons undid Guinn's appointment of Keith Munro to an open seat on the Gaming Control Board, replacing the choice with Randy Sayre.

Also, Gibbons reappointed Gaming Commission Chairman Pete Bernhard to a new four-year term.

Don't try to hide embarrassing matters from state gaming agents -- you will get caught. That was the lesson a junket representative who ferried gamblers to The Venetian learned last week.

Francis Yiu Ming Wat was unanimously found unsuitable by the Gaming Control Board after more than an hour of painful questioning from all three board members. If the Gaming Commission approves, Wat's junket career in Nevada is finished.

"You refused to disclose information," Control Board member Randy Sayre said. "You had to be confronted by gaming agents with evidence."

Among the matters Wat didn't disclose on his gaming application were three different delinquent tax cases with the Revenue Service of Canada, more than $175,000 of unpaid gaming markers, personal loans against his business to pay his gambling debts, operating a branch of his junket business in Hong Kong, his wife's past legal troubles and suspension of his driver's license.

"In three decades with this agency, I have never seen a more problematic licensing process," Sayre said.

The Inside Gaming column is compiled by Review-Journal gaming and tourism writers Howard Stutz, Benjamin Spillman and Arnold M. Knightly. Send your tips about the gaming and tourism industry to insidegaming@reviewjournal.com.