Gambling news from http://www.kansascity.com/
One member of the Missouri Gaming Commission has resigned quietly, and the former Clay County administrator says he is interested in the commission director’s post.
Ralph Biele, former deputy director of the commission who phoned the governor Tuesday with his resignation, said, “It seemed the right time to bow out.”
Biele’s term expired July 1, but commissioners traditionally have been reappointed to second terms or served until their replacements were named. Biele, a retired Missouri Highway Patrol lieutenant colonel, said he hadn’t actively sought a second term from Gov. Matt Blunt.
Biele’s departure is the latest of several in recent months at the commission. The turnover and speculation about a new director have left some in the casino industry wary that politics could trump professionalism at the commission.
Biele’s resignation leaves the commission one short for a scheduled meeting today in Jefferson City to interview candidates on its short list for director. The post was vacated earlier this year by Kevin Mullally, who played a key role in casino regulation in Missouri from its legislative beginnings and who had a national reputation in the industry.
The list of possible replacements has not been made public, but Gary Panethiere, the Clay County administrator for 15 years until he resigned in January, said Wednesday that he had applied. He declined further comment.
Also on the commission’s list is former St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary, now in private law practice in St. Louis. He is thought to be Blunt’s preferred choice for the job. McNary could not be reached Wednesday.
McNary has been a candidate for Missouri governor and Congress and in 1989 was appointed by the first President Bush to be commissioner of immigration and naturalization in St. Louis. McNary unsuccessfully sought a fifth term as county executive in 2004. His campaign manager that year was A. John Baker, now a Missouri lobbyist for Las Vegas-based Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., which operates casinos in Kansas City and St. Louis.
Panethiere also has connections to the Gaming Commission. He took the Clay County post when Peggy Shull led the Clay County Com mission. Her husband, Noel Shull, is now chairman of the Gaming Commission. The Shulls are Missouri state GOP committee members and together contributed $4,750 to Blunt’s gubernatorial campaign, according to the Missouri-based Center for Ethics and the Free Market, which tracks political contributions.
Blunt now has appointed three of the Gaming Commission’s four remaining members. The last non-Blunt appointee, former Kansas City Police Chief Floyd Bartch, has talked about stepping down before his term expires in April next year. Bartch could not be reached Wednesday.
Steve Johnson, the commission’s enforcement director and acting executive director, recently withdrew his application for the director’s job and announced his retirement effective Sept. 1. Also announcing retirements recently were Deborah A. Ferguson, deputy director for administration, who has been with the commission from the beginning, and Donna Watson, who manages the casino employee licensing system. One of the commission’s top deputy attorneys also has resigned.
The turmoil worries the casino industry.
“It’s very uneasy to see massive changes occurring,” said Troy Stremming, a top executive with Ameristar in Kansas City and St. Louis. “Losing senior-level management and commissioners with experience and institutional knowledge … certainly challenges the stability of this commission.”
Noel Shull said Wednesday a new director could be named as early as July 26. He wouldn’t discuss candidates and declined to answer questions regarding the two publicly acknowledged candidates’ apparent lack of experience with the casino industry.
“We are looking for someone with experience in management ability,” Shull said.
|
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
