“Stupid is as stupid does.” —Forrest Gump
The Nevada Gaming Commission has now guaranteed the Nevada Death Dance between the regulatory authorities and Mr. Wynn will go on and on for a great many more years. The regulatory commission has decided to take on the essentially unlimited bankroll of Mr. Wynn, who is represented by one of the most respected and successful lawyers on the planet, with the state being armed with a limited budget and a lawyer provided through the state’s Attorney General’s office. What could possibly go wrong for the state here?
Apparently, Nevada has repeated the silly mantra of the gold standard so long it thinks it can melt down the gold to finance a fight in which it is materially outmatched by Wynn’s lawyers and bankroll. The only question that remains is how much time and money will be wasted before someone sane stops this Moby Dick-themed epic being fueled by chairpersons Morgan and Alamo. My goodness, there is a huge probability that by the time this case is resolved that neither of them will even be in their existing positions.
In their infinite wisdom and the creation of a concept now known as an administrative hold, the commission has decided to start a legal process that likely will go on for a great many years. It did appear chairman Alamo recently had a brilliant flash of the obvious and suggested a settlement might be nice, and I agree. Here is what you need to do, Chairman Alamo: Have someone from the AG’s office call Mr. Wynn’s lawyer and say, “we quit.” There, I solved your problem, saved you a great deal of time and the state of Nevada a great deal of money. Really, is this thing you have created called an administrative hold the hill you want to die on?
I soon expect Chairpersons Alamo and Morgan to take this administrative hold thing to its illogical extreme and start exhuming the old mob guys and dragging their bodies up to a commission hearing to face additional scorn and punishment. That will teach those bums a thing or two.
I would counsel the legislature in the state to impose another line in the oath of office that the regulatory authorities take, and this is that they will not be stupid with the state’s image and bankroll. The next time the state cannot afford some necessary program that actually helps the people of the state, they can thank chairpersons Morgan and Alamo for the ease with which they are wasting the state’s money.
Mr. Wynn’s legacy in the world has been heavily shaped by the events of the last two years and it is not pretty. He has been shamed beyond belief and he is gone. The regulators should call that a victory. What I find amazing is the regulatory entities within the state feel they too need to damage their brands and destroy their legacies in this stupid whale hunt. Fighting this battle well into this decade benefits no one. Quite simply, Forest was right and “stupid is as stupid does.” Chairpersons Morgan and Alamo need to learn the lesson that the United States has mastered in the area of warfare since Korea—simply declare victory, quit fighting, get your people out of harm’s way, and move on.
I’m just trying to help here.
