LAS VEGAS ICON: John Moran Jr

By Mark Fierro and Jeff Haney

When he retired as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission in September as the longest-serving gaming commissioner in state history, John Moran Jr. left behind one of the most extraordinary legacies in Nevada public service, only to embark upon the next chapter of his distinguished career in the legal arena.

A Las Vegan through and through, Moran was 6 weeks old when he arrived here with his parents in 1946. A graduate of Fifth Street Elementary School and Western High School, Moran served his country in Vietnam with the Navy before returning to earn his degree at UNLV in 1971 and his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law in Los Angeles in 1975.

Before entering public service, Moran established the Moran Law Firm. In private practice, Moran represented many of the original players who made Las Vegas what it is today.

Moran never lost the common touch. Whenever he was asked about what type of law he practiced or who he preferred to represent, Moran would invariably answer: “Anyone who comes up the stairs.”

A son of late Clark County Sheriff John Moran Sr., Moran met his wife Marilyn, daughter of Stardust hotel-casino president Herb Tobman, when she was working in the cage at the Stardust and Moran was a lifeguard at the hotel’s pool. Married in 1970, the couple have four married children and seven grandchildren.

In addition to serving a record 14 years on the Gaming Commission, Moran served as a member and chairman of both the Colorado River Commission and the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners. He was appointed to the three state commissions, and as chairman, by five different Nevada governors, two Democrats and three Republicans: Govs. Bob Miller, Kenny Guinn, Jim Gibbons, Brian Sandoval and Steve Sisolak.

After resigning from the Nevada Gaming Commission, Moran joined the Clark Hill law firm this year as senior counsel of the Government & Regulatory Affairs Business Unit in Las Vegas. A colleague of Moran’s at Clark Hill is his son, John “J.T.” Moran, who focuses on legislation and regulatory projects at the firm and represents clients with gaming matters in the U.S. as well as international jurisdictions.

“I was in law school and J.T. was in diapers,” Moran says. “We were living in a little apartment at the time and we had two baby cribs, J.T.’s and his sister’s. Every morning without fail I’d hear a loud thump on the old wooden floor of these apartments that were built in the 1940s. It was J.T. who would pull himself up in the crib, swing his leg over, hang off and then drop. It would go thump. I’d tell Marilyn he’s going to come sliding in here any moment. And here he would come. So I go way back to my law school days with J.T.

“Now, I’m very fortunate to have an office next to my son’s.”

Vegas Legal Magazine recently sat down with John Moran Jr. for a wide-ranging conversation about his remarkable life and career in public service, the gaming industry and the legal field.

Vegas Legal Magazine: Even with your long and storied career in law and public service, you still have affectionate memories of your early jobs in Las Vegas.

John Moran Jr.: When I was about 14 we were living on a little street called Santa Paula just off what was then called San Francisco, the old name for Sahara Avenue. My dad knew I wanted to go to work. I had seven lawns I cut in the neighborhood but I wanted to feel like I had a real job. My dad took me down to juvenile to get me a card to work underage, and he got me a job working for Jackie Gaughan at the El Cortez. I worked the showroom there as a busboy. When I would get off, my dad told [longtime police officer] Julie Goldberg to pull up at the El Cortez to pick me up after my shift. So every night after I got off, I walked out the side door of the El Cortez and I’d get right into Julie Goldberg’s patrol car. He would say, “Johnny, get in the back seat so nobody sees you.” As soon as we got off Fremont he’d say, “Johnny, climb over and sit up here with me.” So I went home every night in a patrol car.

VLM: Your father, John Moran, was a pioneer in Las Vegas in his own right.

Moran: He joined the Marines in 1941 as an enlisted man and fought in virtually all the major battles including Iwo Jima. He ended up having two battlefield commissions and came out of the service as an officer. He was going over the side of a landing ship for the last big invasion, which was Okinawa, one of the deadliest battles of World War II. His foot got caught in the net and he broke his ankle so he ended up not going through with it. If it wasn’t for that, we may not be even sitting here talking today. Isn’t that incredible?

VLM: You were originally appointed to the Nevada Gaming Commission, which oversees the state’s gaming industry, by Gov. Guinn in 2004. What was your relationship with Guinn like?

Moran: He was respected by everyone, not just Republicans or not just Democrats. He was a clear thinker, he was honest, he was highly intelligent and a very accomplished man. I used to love being able to go to lunch with him. He always had a smile on his face and a zip in his step. People would come up to him and he would just love to talk to everyone. Kenny Guinn was very centered and professional, direct, never told lies about anyone. He reminded me a lot of my dad in that way.

VLM: Moving forward a bit, another major figure you dealt with closely was Sheldon Adelson. What were the dynamics of working with Adelson?

Moran: Adelson was incredible. He understood the politics of the Clark County Commission very well, and he always worked very hard to make sure he had the right arrows in his quiver when dealing with the commission. At that point he was building the Venetian on the site of the Sands, which I represented in the old days, and he had a little tiny fly in the ointment — the LeWinter brothers, who owned the Rosewood Grille, which was famous for the giant lobsters. Their place was dead center in the middle of Adelson’s plans to build the Venetian right there. The LeWinter brothers came to me and said, “Everything we’re trying to do, Adelson is putting up roadblocks. He built a garage so now we look like we’re at the bottom of a well. He built a big sign that obscures our entranceway. He’s trying to force us out.” They said to me, “Will you go up against Adelson at the County Commission?” I said, “My pleasure.”

I went to the first meeting, and Adelson is there. I beat him. I walk out. They put it back on for another date in another month. Adelson shows up and he has a different attorney. I beat him again. The third meeting I show up, and by now Adelson and I respect each other. This time I said, “Sheldon, who do you have for an attorney this time? I beat your last two.” He says, “John, I’m doing this one myself.’ I said, “That is music to my ears. I will see you at the microphone.” I beat him yet again.

VLM: During your career, you were able to view the expansion of gambling not only internationally, but in the U.S., as it spread from Nevada to New Jersey to tribal casinos and riverboats through today, when full-fledged casinos can be found all over the country.

Moran: As I watched that happen, I was thinking: How long was it going to take for all the good things gaming brings to become evident in all those different states? How long was it going to take for the lightbulbs to go on over the heads of the leaders in those states? Because when the lightbulb goes on, we in Nevada now have more serious competitors. It’s like with the expansion of sports betting more recently. But overall, I liked to see it because there’s still only one Las Vegas. There is no place like Las Vegas and there never will be. There is no place that offers the kind of energy and excitement that Las Vegas does. All those people in other states, when they want to vacation and have a good time, they’re not going to do it in their own back yard. They’re going to want to come to Las Vegas.

VLM: Clark Hill, your destination after retiring as chairman of the Gaming Commission, is a high-profile law firm with a major international presence.

Moran: When I ask myself how I arrived here, I just think that any kind of a relationship in law is based on a foundation that has trust, honesty, hard work and fair dealing at its core. Having a good organization and a good name is of the utmost importance to me. Other firms reached out to me but I wasn’t really interested. When I was considering Clark Hill, my son was speaking highly of them and I wanted to know the kind of people who were there. And names like Dominic Gentile, Paola Armeni, John Hunt and many others were the kind of exceptional lawyers and fine people I wanted to be involved with.

VLM: With the Gaming Commission behind you, what are your next goals?

Moran: I want to be a good team player at Clark Hill. I think their goals are phenomenal. I think we can be a powerful team. I think if we look at gaming from an attorney and law firm standpoint, there’s a lot of things that can be accomplished by getting universally involved in all of the firm’s locations in places that already have gaming or may be getting gaming. More states are really opening up. I think that’s very fertile ground. How valuable would that be for casino owners in our neck of the woods, as they expand, to have a law firm in their corner that can help them not only where they started, but also in other locations where they want to go next?

Mark Fierro began his career as a reporter/ anchor at KLAS-TV, the CBS television station in Las Vegas. He worked at the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. He served as communications consultant on IPO road shows on Wall Street. He provided litigation support for the Michael Jackson death trial. He is president of Fierro Communications, Inc., which conducts mock juries and focus groups in addition to public relations and marketing. Fierro is the author of several books including “Road Rage: The Senseless Murder of Tammy Meyers.” He has made numerous appearances on national TV news programs.

Jeff Haney serves as Executive Vice President of Operations for Fierro Communications, where he works closely with Mark Fierro in developing and directing all media, marketing, research, consulting and public relations strategies for Fierro Communications’ clients including those in business, government, the legal field and cutting-edge high technology.