Mr. John D. Berkley has not been paid for fourteen months as President and CEO of Las Vegas Gaming Incorporated (LGI). Berkley informed the Nevada Gaming Control Board on June 2nd, 2010 that the group might only be able to stay afloat for three to four months unles it receives additional capital.
The Gaming Control Board found Berkley to be acceptable for a permanent state license and also pushed for approval for the group sell its keno interests to Session Gaming, which is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Berkley has been functioning on a limited license for fourteen months after board said that there were some holes in the application he submitted to the board and that the group had failed to follow with some state rules.
Berkley said that those problems have already been solved. Las Vegas Gaming, which is a publicly traded organization, has its keno operations in tribal owned casino facilities. It previously sold its bingo interests. The Head of the Gaming Control Board, Dennis Neilander, said that the group has a program called Player Vision that is connected to slot machines and features advertisements.
Berkley said that he firmly believes in the program but he said that he cannot go without a paycheck forever. Neilander said that Berkley did a terrific job in solving the compliance issues of the organization. Neilander added that LGI desperately needs additional capital.
Bruce Merati, the CEO of Session Gaming, which is acquiring LGI's keno interests, said that there are numerous problems with the game. He said that one of the pitfalls is the labor expenses in writing a keno ticket. He said that it cannot compete effectively with the slot machines.
The casino employees who were working on the keno interests of Las Vegas Gaming will be absorbed by Session Gaming. The state Gaming Commission will convene on June 17th, 2010 to take a final decision on the applications. The board postponed action on Bruce A. Shepard's application to be formally licensed as chief financial officer and treasurer of Las Vegas Gaming.
Shepard has not paid the board for the expenses of his investigation. The Gaming Board gave him thirty days to pay the ten thousand dollars fee or have his application denied. Shepard said that he has a bridge loan of one hundred thousand dollars coming in one week to ten days.
John M. Thorpe
Published on: [18-07]
