Wednesday’s regulator workshop in Nevada about salon play, especially in Las Vegas, was pertinent for two main reasons: a major tourism drop and heightened anti-money laundering scrutiny.
Total visitation to Las Vegas has seen year-over-year declines every month this year, and Wynn, MGM and Resorts World have faced multimillion-dollar AML fines in 2025. As such, modernising salon rules could be a way to counteract both.
In gaming parlance, “salons” are private gaming rooms separate from public casino areas, including high-limit areas. Prior to 2001, Nevada law forbade any private gaming, but amendments were passed that year for the creation of salon regulations.
This was done, as Nevada Gaming Control Board Chair Mike Dreitzer explained Wednesday, to attract high-value customers to the state at a time of economic uncertainty post-9/11. The original rules surrounding salons were quite stringent, including a $500,000 deposit or credit minimum for prospective players.
This barrier was so high that only the biggest Las Vegas Strip casinos could field them. That is still largely the case; to this day, there are no salons at all in northern Nevada. Legally, they may only operate in “resort hotels”, defined in Nevada as those with gaming, 200-plus rooms and at least one bar and restaurant. Operators must apply and be approved for a salon licence.
In 2008, the economic uncertainty of the Great Recession motivated regulators to lower the threshold to $300,000. Then in late 2024, the NGCB embarked on another round of consultations regarding salons, again in response to economic uncertainty and the desire to keep Nevada relevant amid casino expansion elsewhere. A workshop was held last December to begin the process of amending salon regulations for a third time.
Several changes for salons recommended for approval
Feedback from that hearing was incorporated into a draft amendment to salon Regulation 5.200, which was presented by the board Wednesday. After two hours of further debate with stakeholders, the board unanimously recommended a number of changes, some of which include:
- Lowering the baseline deposit/credit threshold to $20,000.
- Allowing operators to apply for the right to set their own minimums based on proven salon experience.
- Establishing poker as a game eligible for salon play.
- Establishing a $20,000 buy-in minimum to commence a poker game, including a $10,000 minimum buy-in per player.
- Lengthening the period that a salon patron’s guest may play in a salon without the guest present from six to 24 hours.
The Nevada Gaming Commission will consider the amendments for adoption on 25 September.
Potential answer to Las Vegas tourism drop, AML issues
If Nevada casinos are freer to offer private gaming, that could attract more customers who previously went elsewhere for such experiences, stakeholders argue. Additionally, security in salons is higher than the main floor, and the gameplay would be more scrutinised.
Casinos have advocated for discretionary minimums to account for a larger number of business opportunities. For example, picture a celebrity passing through Las Vegas: they want to play a little, but don’t want to be bothered on the main floor or undergo the strict salon financial checks currently in place. Perhaps the CEO of a convention wishes to entertain some guests who are not high-rollers, but the casino wishes to thank them for the business they bring and offer them a private salon.
Loosening the regulations would allow more of those types of situations to be facilitated. In theory, this could lead to more revenue and return trips from high-value customers to combat the Las Vegas tourism drop.
Balancing collaboration and enforcement in Nevada casinos
The board, though, must balance those opportunities with realistic enforcement abilities. Opening the floodgates and setting no statutory minimum could create more problems for the state’s pool of regulatory resources.
Dreitzer acknowledged that operators’ eagerness is “well taken”, but constantly stressed the need for balance. He was deferential to the board’s enforcement chief, Kristi Torgerson, who advocated for a minimum of least $10,000.
“You must respect the fact that there’s a bit of an unknown here,” Dreitzer said to those in attendance. “And I understand we have checks along the way, but you know how that goes. There’s always sort of a push towards the lowest number at every level.”
Casinos eager for new offerings to battle Vegas spending lag
For the industry, there is heightened pressure to sustain what has been a record-setting stretch of performance post-Covid. The state set three consecutive records for fiscal year gaming revenue coming out of 2020, but was slightly (-0.79%) off that mark in FY25. The Strip, however, was -3%, the worst of the state’s major markets.
Las Vegas has increasingly invested in non-gaming entertainment, especially sports. In the last 10 years, the city added the Aces (WNBA), Raiders (NFL) and Golden Knights (NHL) franchises, and it will welcome the Athletics (MLB) in 2028. The annual Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix is also contracted through 2027.
Virginia Valentine, president and CEO of the Nevada Resort Association (NRA), told the board this “evolution from the gaming capital of the world to the sports and entertainment capital of the world has changed the definition” of what a high-value customer is. To assuage concerns over a “proliferation” of salons and potential problems, she noted any new salons or modifications must be approved by the board anyway.
“Nevada is the regulatory gold standard. We would also like to be the gold standard of gaming experiences,” Valentine said.
Also making appearances Wednesday in support of loosening salon regulations were:
- Charlie Stone, EVP of casino operations and marketing for Wynn Las Vegas
- Chandler Pohl, VP and legal counsel for MGM Resorts
- Joe Lupo, president of Hard Rock Las Vegas, currently under construction
As mentioned, Wynn and MGM were among the three AML fines administered this year. Hard Rock also fired a top executive, Alex Pariente, this month over an AML scandal at the company’s casino in the Dominican Republic.
Poker in salons could fight Las Vegas tourism drop
The inclusion of poker as a salon game was notable, and something the NRA lobbied heavily for.
“We are aware that there are card games going on in other states, and possibly even here,” Valentine said Wednesday. “Those card games are happening out of sight, if you will. We are asking to kind of level the playing field because that’s what we’re competing with.”
While it was allowed, it was given somewhat stricter guidelines. For a salon poker game to commence, all players must submit to financial checks instead of just the main patron. Additionally, the board kept the $10,000 buy-in minimum per player, whereas the NRA had asked that one player be allowed to bankroll the entire $20,000 table minimum.
In a statement to iGB, Valentine applauded the board, both current and past, for “reviewing the matter and listening to the industry” to create new guidelines that “meet today’s environment”.
“The proposed regulations going forward to the Gaming Commission reflect a balance of needs for the industry and for regulators. That’s key to creating any effective public policy,” Valentine said. “We look forward to the discussion with the Gaming Commission.”
To Valentine’s point, it is no secret that Nevada casinos compete with a sizable legal and illegal poker market, especially in neighbouring California. The state offers legal poker at both tribal casinos and licensed card rooms. Its concentration of wealth and celebrities also makes it a hub for high-stakes underground games.
In one example, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was among six charged in an illegal poker ring bust in July. The operation allegedly ran out of an Encino mansion owned by Arenas, with influence from Israeli organised crime.
Chip policies already changed this summer
Poker seems to be a focal point for the NGCB under Dreitzer’s tenure, which began in late June. The game can be a target for bad actors, as it is an environment in which players swap chips and cash back and forth with less casino involvement than other games.
In mid-July, several major Strip poker operators — Wynn, MGM, Caesars and the Venetian/Palazzo (Apollo Global) — changed their chip cash-out policies.
The companies will cash chips only from their own properties under the new rules. In other words, players are no longer able to cash Wynn chips at an MGM property, or vice versa. This appeared to be a coordinated company-level rule change rather than a regulatory change, as with salons.
“We believe this change was a good idea and a great example of our industry actively addressing [anti-money laundering] concerns,” Dreitzer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal 14 July.
Las Vegas tourism seeks stability from board in flux
For the three-member board, it is a tough job to foster innovation while also attempting to create a sense of stability. Dreitzer is the fifth NGCB chair to take office since January 2019.
He inherited a partial term from previous chair Kirk Hendrick; Hendrick took over for Brittnie Watkins, who was serving on an interim basis after Brin Gibson resigned in November 2022; Gibson took over for Sandra Douglass Morgan, who resigned in November 2020.
Currently, former Las Vegas judge George Assad is the most senior board member, appointed in January 2023. Former Reno city attorney Chandeni Sendall was appointed this January. Dreitzer’s appointment was welcomed because of his experience with both the state and the industry.
Prior to the NGCB, he held senior roles at Gaming Arts, BMM Testlabs, Ainsworth and others, but he began his career as a deputy attorney general. Stakeholders are hopeful this industry insight can result in better collaboration with the board.
Assad, who also worked in the casino industry for eight years, passionately advocated Wednesday for no salon minimums. While noting the importance of AML concerns, his view was that salon restrictions were a regulatory overreach. Dreitzer listened respectfully to these tangents, before returning to his core message: balance.
“That [minimum] creates a barrier to entry, frankly, related to individuals who think they can run a salon, but ultimately can’t,” Dreitzer said.
Nevada is one step away from significantly changing its regulations for salons. Will this counteract mounting tourism headwinds for Las Vegas?