Nevada Gaming Control Board appoints new chairman
Nevada governor named Kirk Hendrick as Gaming Control Board chair.
US.- Las Vegas attorney Kirk Hendrick has been appointed as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board by state governor Joe Lombardo. Hendrick will serve on the regulatory body, taking over from former chairman J. Brin Gibson, who resigned at the end of November. Hendrick is expected to begin his four-year appointment at the end of January.
Hendrick, age 58, started his career in private practice in 1991 before working under then State Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa in the Gaming Division. There, he provided legal counsel to the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission.
After that, he served as the Senior Deputy Attorney General for the Division’s Las Vegas office before becoming Chief Deputy for the statewide Gaming Division. He also served as legal counsel for the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
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He returned to private practice in 2001 before joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2002 as general counsel. Hendrick was promoted to UFC’s chief operating officer, and later, executive vice president and chief legal officer. He departed the sports organisation in 2019 to create Hendrick Sports & Entertainment.
Gov. Lombardo said about the appointment: “With his sharp business acumen, outstanding legal background, and passion for Nevada gaming, I know that Kirk will excel in this critical leadership role.”
The NGCB consists of three full-time members, all of whom are appointed by the governor for four-year terms. The board’s primary purpose is to protect the stability of the gaming industry through investigations, licensing, and enforcement of laws and regulations. The board is also responsible for collecting gaming taxes and fees and maintaining the public’s overall confidence in gaming.
The board additionally implements policy and state laws, and routinely makes regulatory recommendations to the five-member Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC). The NGC is the final authority on licensing matters and possesses the ability to approve, restrict, limit, condition, deny, revoke, or suspend any gaming licence.
