John Moran Jr. appointed chairman of Nevada Gaming Commission
Longtime Nevada Gaming Commissioner John Moran Jr. has been named chairman of the commission, and Gov. Steve Sisolak also appointed Las Vegas attorney Ogonna Brown to fill a commission vacancy.
Moran, appointed to the commission by Gov. Kenny Guinn in 2004, has been serving as acting chairman since the resignation of Tony Alamo in April. Alamo left to devote more time to his medical practice as the coronavirus pandemic expanded.
Moran was reappointed to four-year terms by Govs. Jim Gibbons and Brian Sandoval.
Moran comes from a family with a long-standing affiliation with law enforcement. He is a son of late Clark County Sheriff John Moran Sr.
Moran served with what was then the Clark County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy sheriff beginning in 1969. He was admitted to practice law in Nevada in 1975 and is the founding senior member of the Moran Law Firm in Las Vegas.
Prior to his appointment to the Gaming Commission, Moran served on the Colorado River Commission and the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners. Gov. Bob Miller appointed Moran to the Colorado River Commission in 1989. During his time on that commission, Moran served as both member and chairman.
In 2000, Moran was appointed to the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners by Guinn, and he served as a member and chairman until 2004.
The newest commissioner, Brown, is a partner at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie with nearly 20 years of legal experience and expertise in business litigation and bankruptcy focusing on creditors’ rights.
Brown was a judicial law clerk to Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit in 2001-02. She was a lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 2014-16.
Sisolak did not formally announce the appointments, but Moran, contacted Saturday, said he had received an executive order from the governor’s office confirming the appointment. Brown’s biography as an appointed commissioner appeared Saturday on the state Gaming Control Board’s website without a formal announcement.
The five-member Gaming Commission makes most of the final determinations on gaming matters recommended by the three-member Gaming Control Board in Nevada’s two-tiered gaming regulatory system.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.
