Nevada: Former lieutenant governor Brian Krolicki appointed to Gaming Commission

Former Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki has been named to the Nevada Gaming Commission by Gov. Joe Lombardo. The appointment, which was made on Friday, fills the five-member commission’s vacancy, left when Ben Kieckhefer resigned to join Lombardo’s staff.

Krolicki’s appointment to the Nevada Gaming Commission was confirmed to The Nevada Independent by a spokeswoman for Gov. Lombardo. He is being appointed to an open term in the part-time commission, which makes final decisions on licensing and other matters based on recommendations from the full-time Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Krolicki, 62, served as Lt. Gov. during then-Gov. Brian Sandoval’s administration from 2007 to 2015. He also was Nevada’s state treasurer from 1999 to 2007, and in addition to his 16-year tenure as a constitutional officer, Krolicki has been a longtime business leader in the state, reports Las Vegas Review-Journal, credited with bringing economic development initiatives to Nevada throughout his time in public service and in the private sector.

In his role as lieutenant governor, Krolicki headed the Nevada Commission on Tourism. He also led the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition in an unsuccessful bid to bring the Winter Olympic Games to Reno, Lake Tahoe and California. In that bid, he championed bringing curling events to Las Vegas, recalls the cited source.

During his term as treasurer, Krolicki created the State Treasurer's College Savings Plan and Nevada's Prepaid College Tuition Program, which were credited with making a college education more affordable for Nevada students. Krolicki also has experience in the private banking industry and on Wall Street, and is a graduate of Stanford University.

Kirk Hendrick

Earlier this month, Gov. Lombardo named Kirk Hendrick as control board chairman. A Las Vegas attorney, Hendrick headed the attorney general’s gaming division in the late 1990s. Control board member Brittnie Watkins had served as the agency’s acting chairwoman since the end of November after the departure of former chairman Brin Gibson.

The governor still needs to fill a seat on the control board to replace Philip Katsaros, who did not seek reappointment, points out The Nevada Independent.