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Former State Attorney General Could Get Regulator Post

LAS VEGAS — Former Nevada Attorney General Brian McKay is being pushed as a candidate to succeed Brian Sandoval as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, sources said Tuesday.

McKay, 56, who served as attorney general from 1983-91 and retired last year as the general counsel of slot maker International Game Technology, has been approached by gaming lawyers attempting to gauge his interest in the regulatory job.

"The governor has not spoken to me about it," McKay said. "It is a very important position, and should the governor elect to speak to me about it, I would listen very carefully."

Sandoval, a Reno lawyer and former Republican member of the state Legislature, quit the $55,000-a-year, part-time job earlier this month to decide whether he will run next year for the job of state Attorney General.

He will attempt to succeed Democrat Frankie Sue Del Papa, who last month announced she will not seek a fourth term.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican, is expected as early as next week to announce his selection for Sandoval's replacement. McKay is also a Republican, prompting talk that he is a likely choice for the commission's chairmanship.

Guinn spokesman Jack Finn said his boss plans to meet in the coming days with potential candidates for the job, although Finn declined to identify Guinn's criteria for making a pick.

Political observers believe Guinn wants a lawyer to serve as the panel's fifth member and chairman, but it is unclear whether the governor will follow past practice and choose a Northern Nevadan to keep the regional balance at its traditional 3-2, north-south ratio.

The addition of a Southern Nevadan would give the southern portion of the state a 4-1 edge on the panel, which state gaming regulations and studies a variety of policy issues, most recently the legality of Internet gambling.

"He's got a very open mind when it comes to the selection process," Finn said of Guinn, declining to identify any of the candidates for the post.

Other top contenders for the chairmanship are believed to be former state Ethics Commissioners Pete Bernhard and Raymond "Skip" Avansino, Las Vegas lawyer John Bailey and former Democratic Assemblyman Bob Sader.

Observers say Avansino's candidacy for the job could be plagued by his late 1990s departure from Hilton Hotels Corp. in connection with a questionable $250,000 grant tied to a Kansas City, Mo., port official, where Hilton eventually opened a riverboat casino.

Hilton agreed to pay $655,000 to settle the case, and Avansino and two other Hilton executives who left their jobs were never found guilty of any wrongdoing.

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