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Counsel OK'd lawmakers' trips paid by poker firm
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Updated: Apr. 12, 2011 | 7:14 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Legislative Counsel Brenda Erdoes said Monday she advised three legislators that it was appropriate for them to take "educational, fact-finding" overseas trips last year at the expense of an Internet poker company.
Erdoes said she told Democratic Assembly members Kelvin Atkinson of North Las Vegas and William Horne of Las Vegas and Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, also of Las Vegas, that the trips paid for by PokerStars were permissible because of the likelihood of online poker becoming a legislative issue.
Horne and Atkinson spent 2½ days in London to be shown the company's products. Horsford was flown to the Bahamas for a meeting with the company.
Horne, chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, has introduced Assembly Bill 258, which would authorize the Nevada Gaming Commission to adopt regulations for online poker.
None of the legislators was required to report the trip as gifts on their annual financial disclosure statements, Erdoes said.
Atkinson said Friday that the trips had been approved by Erdoes and that taking them violated no ethics laws.
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Zach', I think you're suggesting the legislators had the expertise to see the operation first-hand and make an objective, informed evaluation of the security procedures, etc. I really doubt they have that expertise.
Further, if they felt the need to ask for a legal opinion then there was clearly some doubt, and based on that, they should have just stayed home. This was a boondoggle, plain and simple. If pokerstars can conduct complex transactions and gaming over the internet, they can surely provide information by the same medium. This may have been legal, but it was also extremely questionable judgment.
Horne has already demonstrated a lack of judgment in his opposition to a cooling off period. This is one more bad call on his part. Unfortunately, given the way his district is carved out, he'll survive this and many more such bad decisions on his part.
Summerlin Slick- pokerstars is illegal for people residing in the United States to use but is not illegal for people in other countries to use. For Bill Horne and others to take a trip to learn about the product with pokerstars footing the bill is fine by me. There is more than just cards. They need to know the security of this and how Nevada would directly be impacted. So before everyone goes and slams this into the ground it would be a great source of revenue for the state
I guess lobyists aren't needed anymore. The legislators just go to the source and TAKE THE CASH !
They were shown the companies products? WHAT ??!!!A couple decks of cards and a card table ???
That is our so -called legislators at work ! BOUGHT AND PAID FOR !! THIEVES !
PokerStars is an illegal enterprise. Did they forget about that? They gave these guys cash gifts as well.
D U M P T H E M ASAP.........
How can public servents duly sworn and elected take trips to London and the Bahamas with no implecations? Go Figure!
Horsford, Horne and Atkinson now they get a bill on Internet Gaming. Come on folks? It does Pay to Play! They don't even have to disclose! What was this added perk?