Gambling Hall of Famer & Nevada Gaming Chair Harry Reid Dies at 82

Harry Reid, best known as the former four-term US Senate Majority Leader, passed away on Tuesday, December 28th, at 82 years old. According to the family, he succumbed to complications after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

A Democratic Party member, Reid spent three decades in the US Senate and is the longest-serving US senator in Nevada’s history. Born in Searchlight, Reid was also the youngest lieutenant governor in the history of the Silver State, from 1971 to 1975 at just 32 years old. This was two years after he got elected to the state Assembly in 1969.

In 1977, two years after serving as lieutenant governor, Reid became the chairperson of the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC). He was appointed by the then. Mike O’Callaghan, who had served as deputy governor for one term, before Reid’s political interests shifted. His four-year tenure as the NGC chair is considered one of the most tumultuous periods in the Silver State’s casino regulation.

Reid spearheaded so much change during and after his NGC stint that he was inducted into the Gambling Hall of Fame in 2001. The Hall of Fame pointed out that besides his achievements when he served as the NGC chair, Reid was considered a champion for “hundreds of thousands” of gaming sector employees. In addition, Nevada communities who relied on the industry for economic empowerment also considered Reid their voice on the state and federal level.

Reid’s Impact on Nevada’s Notoriously Mob-Infected Gaming Sector

In 1979, when Reid was the NGC chair, he famously voted against awarding Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal a gaming license. According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, there was evidence that Lefty had been running several underground casinos without an NGC license. The gaming regulatory body, chaired by Reid, refused to issue Lefty a license citing his links to organized crime and criminal record.

After the Commission’s license hearing, Reid and Rosenthal had a confrontation that was caught by the media. Lefty asked the NGC chair to confirm that he helped him (Reid) quash a tarnishing story right in front of reporters.

The period when Reid served as the NGC chair was so notorious in Nevada’s gaming history that it was depicted in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film Casino. The movie was a portrayal of when federal prosecutors teamed up with Nevada’s regulators to fight off the Mob and drive the perps out of Sin City.

Raid was also instrumental in helping the FBI put entertainment manager Jack Gordon and his associate, Joe Daly, behind bars in 1978. They were caught on tape trying to offer Reid a $12,000 bribe so that he would approve two new casino games in Nevada. In the sting operation, the NGC chair allowed FBI agents to use his office and record Gordon while offering the bribe.

On the flip side, the NGC chair had also been accused of being in the pockets of organized crime leaders. In 1979, an FBI affidavit disclosed bugged conversations of mobster Joe Agosto, who was also Tropicana Hotel’s entertainment director, telling his bosses in Kansas City that he had a Nevada regulator in his control. Agosto referred to the person as “Cleanface” or “Mister Clean,” who the FBI suspected was a codename for Reid. However, in 1980, independent investigations cleared Reid of any wrongdoing.

Because of facing off with the Mob, Reid received several death threats that, on multiple occasions, put his life and his family in danger. However, one of the scariest incidents of his life, as is recounted in his memoir, The Good Fight, was in 1981 when his wife, Landra, narrowly escaped death.

While driving, she had a feeling that the family’s Oldsmobile station wagon wasn’t running right, and she decided to pop the hood. Then, she noticed a wire connected to a spark plug, and the same wire was also visible on the opening of the gas tank. So, they contacted authorities, and when the bomb squad arrived, they noted that the car was rigged with a bomb, but it hadn’t detonated because the spark plug’s tip was broken.

After his tenure on the Gaming Commission, Reid later served two Congressional terms as a representative of the First District of November. From there, he was elected to the US Senate in 1986, a position that he held for five terms before his January 2017 retirement.

Bill Miller, the American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO, issued an official statement on the passing of Senator Harry Reid, celebrating his impact as follows:

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“From his days as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission to tenure as Majority Leader, Senator Reid’s impact on Nevada and the gaming industry is unparalleled. He was the ultimate gaming champion. I’m grateful for having known the Senator throughout my career in Washington, DC Without a shadow of a doubt, Senator Reid was one of the sharpest, most effective political minds to ever enter the arena. On behalf of the AGA, our condolences to his wife, family, and friends. May his memory be a blessing.”

The Las Vegas Airport was Renamed from McCarran to Reid Before His Demise

On December 2nd, when Reid celebrated his 82nd birthday, Nevada state officials rechristened the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas to Harry Reid International Airport. The airport had been named after Senator Patrick McCarran, but critics recently debunked the Senator’s history of perpetuating anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and racism. As a result, state officials voted to rename the airport in honor of Nevada’s longest-serving Senator.

The rebrand will cost over $7 million, financed by private and corporate donations. William Boyd, the Boyd Gaming Executive Chairman, Stephen Cloobeck, the former Chairman and CEO of Diamond Resorts, and Billy Walters, a prolific sports bettor, and entrepreneur all donated $ million for the rebranding.

Reid’s last post on Twitter, dated December 14th, expressing appreciation over the honor, reads as follows:

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“The airport is a very special place to me. I worked hard during my years in Congress to help build and grow the airport, and it is a source of tremendous pride to me… It is the indispensable ingredient to Las Vegas’ success; it is the gateway through which millions come from every corner of the world to see our city, which is like no other place on earth.”