Nevada Gaming Commission Chair Tony Alamo Resigns to Concentrate on Fighting Pandemic

Posted on: April 8, 2020, 11:46h. 

Last updated on: April 8, 2020, 12:02h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) Chairman Tony Alamo has announced his resignation effective April 17 in an effort to focus his attention on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevada Gaming Commission Tony Alamo
Tony Alamo, pictured here in the center as the Nevada Gaming Commission fines Wynn Resorts $20 million in 2019, is departing the regulatory board. (Image: John Locher/AP)

Alamo, a physician who is the director of the Alamo Medical Clinic in Henderson, notified Governor Steve Sisolak (D) of his decision Tuesday. The 55-year-old has served as an NGC commissioner since May 2008. He had previously announced that he would not seek a reappointment when his third term expires April 27.

“While I intended to fulfill the last 20 days of my term, the current COVID-19 medical crisis requires that I devote all of my time and attention to my present role as chief medical director of one of the largest clinical delivery organizations in Nevada in order to battle this pandemic,” Alamo wrote Sisolak. “As you are aware, the peak of the infection is theorized to occur in the next 10-14 days; and therefore, I need to direct all of my energies to the clinical and logistical planning that my primary employment demands.”

It has been my ultimate privilege for me to be part of the regulatory process for the past 19 years for the State of Nevada,” Alamo added. “I will remain the gaming industry’s biggest proponent, and I look forward to seeing Nevada and its citizens overcoming all the challenges currently before us.”

Alamo’s state compensation last year was $54,787.20, plus $8,983.51 in benefits.

Alamo Tenure

Nevada’s gaming commission is made up of five members. With Alamo’s resignation, the four remaining NGC members are Commissioners John Moran, Deborah Fuetsch, Rosa Solis-Rainey, and Steven Cohen.

The NGC was created in 1959 with the passage of the Nevada Gaming Control Act. All five commissioners are appointed by the governor, and serve four-year terms. The roles are part-time positions, with their primary responsibility acting on the recommendations of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Commissioners’ 2019 total compensation: Moran $46,399.72, Fuetsch $45,387.41, Solis-Rainey $28,655.60, and Cohen $27,004.74.

The commission is “the final authority on licensing matters, having the ability to approve, restrict, limit, condition, deny, revoke, or suspend any gaming license.”

Alamo was appointed NGC chair in July 2014. His tenure leading the commission featured the first appointment of a female to chair the Gaming Control Board – Becky Harris, who was appointed by then-Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) in January of 2018.

Harris’ appointment came just days before The Wall Street Journal published its career-ending expose on Steve Wynn’s alleged sexual misconducts. In February of 2019, the NGC handed Wynn Resorts a record $20 million fine for the company’s “failure of corporate culture to govern itself.”

Sisolak Appointment

Sisolak tweeted this afternoon, “I am very thankful for Dr. Tony Alamo’s 12 years of service on the NV Gaming Commission. I fully support his commitment to responding to #COVID19 crisis.”

In January 2019, Sisolak appointed Sandra Morgan Douglas to replace Harris as chair of the Gaming Control Board. She was paid $183,384.69 last year in full-time pay and benefits.