Nevada: Tavern seeks waiver from new slot regulation

Just when you think Las Vegas has enough slot machines to satisfy the local Gambling Addiction, they change the rules.

Does anyone wonder: When is enough enough?

Tavern seeks waiver from new slot regulation

The Nevada Gaming Commission will get its first request for a waiver from a controversial regulation this month when a state Gaming Control Board recommendation on an application for a restricted license for Miz Lola’s Holdings LLC is considered.

The three-member Control Board wrestled with the application today, voting 2-1 to recommend a license for 15 slot machines and a waiver from a requirement to provide a restaurant in the tavern on Blue Diamond Road in southwest Las Vegas. Miz Lola’s also is seeking a waiver from the square-footage requirement.

Miz Lola’s uses a business model similar to that of Dotty’s, which caters to women with soft music, bright interiors and a homespun atmosphere.

Last month, after hearings and meetings, the Gaming Commission amended the regulation overseeing the licensing of bars and taverns. The revised regulation requires a permanent bar with seating for at least nine people, the operation of a restaurant and a minimum of 2,000 square feet with seating for at least 20 customers. Dotty’s was in the spotlight as an example of a company that would be directly affected by changes in the regulations.

Representatives of Miz Lola’s said they had filed an application a year ago, long before revisions to the regulation had been contemplated. Board members were torn between allowing the waiver because the rules changed last month and implementing the new policy.

“If ever there was a case for a waiver, this is it,” said John Maloney, a lawyer representing Miz Lola’s.

He said had company representatives known that the commission was going to change the rules in the middle of their bid for a license, they would have pressed to have the matter heard in July before the changes were made.

Board members A.G. Burnett and Shawn Reid concurred and voted to recommend the waiver and the license. Chairman Mark Lipparelli opposed the recommendation, which will be considered by the commission Sept. 22.

Lipparelli said although he sympathized with the applicant’s position, the commission’s decision was clear and his vote reflected that.