Nevada Gaming Control Board member Brittnie Watkins, whose term expires at the end of the month, said during Wednesday’s meeting that it was her last with the state agency.
Watkins, an attorney who was appointed to the board in 2021 by former Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, did not say if she sought reappointment to a second four-year term.
A source close to the agency who spoke anonymously to discuss internal matters said Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo had informed Watkins that she wouldn’t be reappointed. Lombardo’s spokeswoman, Elizabeth Ray, did not respond to a request for comment.
“The opportunity to see the gaming industry from this perspective has been absolutely priceless,” Watkins said at the outset of the board’s meeting in Las Vegas, thanking the industry for its collaboration and innovation.
“I leave the board entirely fulfilled. There is no other opportunity like this,” she said.
Watkins spent five years practicing complex commercial litigation before she was appointed to the board. She served as the acting board chairwoman for the last two months of 2022 after Brin Gibson resigned as chairman.
Lombardo will fill the position. In January 2023, Lombardo appointed attorney Kirk Hendrick as chairman and former Judge George Assad as board member. Each has two years left in their terms.
The control board is a statewide, 400-person agency that regulates and enforces the laws associated with Nevada’s largest industry. The three-person, full-time board recommends licensing and other matters to the five-person, part-time Nevada Gaming Commission.
Hendrick told Watkins he appreciated the work she did behind the scenes, including leading a task force to look at the directives of the board “that hadn’t been done in years.”
The three control board members are all attorneys. Traditionally, the panel is supposed to include someone from the legal profession, a law enforcement representative and a person with a financial background, such as a certified public accountant.
Watkins is a native of Michigan and a graduate of Michigan State University with two bachelor’s degrees in psychology and criminal justice. She came to Las Vegas to earn a master’s degree in criminal justice from UNLV.
She earned her Juris Doctor and Masters of Law (LLM) in gaming and regulation from UNLV’s Boyd School of Law and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from UNLV.
