Gaming Commission will make final ruling December 18
At the close of a December 3 public hearing that dragged on for more than three hours, the Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended that SBE Entertainment CEO Sam Nazarian, the man behind the new SLS Las Vegas, receive a one-year limited gaming license. The Nevada Gaming Commission will make a final ruling on the recommendation December 18.
It almost didn’t go Nazarian’s way. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the businessman, who testified at the hearing in Carson City, was in danger of denial in light of revelations that he recently used cocaine and was involvement in a shakedown scheme, paying out some $3 million over several years to a convicted felon and his cronies.
The three-member board received tens of thousands of pages of information about Nazarian and his businesses, which include a string of popular Southern California nightclubs and a line of SLS hotels. Board members voted 2-to-1 to recommend the license if Nazarian has no involvement with the resort’s casino operations and submits to random drug testing.
At the hearing, Nazarian admitted he used cocaine during an April trip to Mexico, but called it a “one-time indiscretion.” Control Board member Shawn Reid, who voted against the limited gaming license, said he was alarmed that Nazarian used drugs “in the middle of his license investigation.”
Board members also expressed concern about Nazarian’s dealings with a former friend who demanded and received millions in payments from the businessman.“He seemed to show up as my accomplishments grew,” Nazarian said of convicted felon Derrick Armstrong.
SBE executive Randy Winograd tried to take the fall for his boss, telling the board he paid off Armstrong to put an end to alleged harassment.“This guy was making claims to embarrass Sam and the Nazarian family,” Winograd said. “I screwed up. I failed Sam badly.”
Nazarian also admitted paying $83,000 to Israeli mobster Hai Waknine $83,000 and $90,000 to rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight $90,000 because of their connections to Armstrong.
“The buck stops with me,” Nazarian told the Control Board.
However, Reid said he worried that Nazarian could be “easily manipulated.”
“You seemed more worried about PR than doing the right thing,” Reid told the applicant.
Board Chairman A.G. Burnett said Nazarian should have sought help from law enforcement if he was the victim of an extortionist. “When you have a barnacle, you cut it off,” Burnett said.
“I was hoping for greater candor in your answers,” said board member Terry Johnson. “I understand you’re a busy man and you have attorneys to handle all that. But I was a little taken aback by your answers. I can’t recommend an outright approval of the application at this time.”
Board members considered taking no action on the application, the Review-Journal reported. But Burnett told Nazarian, “I don’t want you to be a denied applicant.”
