When Dreamscape Companies Inc. President and Chief Financial Officer John Eder arrived at Thursday’s Nevada Gaming Commission meeting, he was relatively certain he would be licensed as an officer of the company overseeing the property off the Strip Rio.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board two weeks earlier had unanimously recommended a conditional license after a lengthy fitness hearing, meaning he would be licensed, but must return for a regulatory review in two years if approved by the Gaming Commission.
But instead, the commissioners voted 3-2 to deny Eder a license, putting his playing career in jeopardy.
Licensed companies are prohibited from hiring or working with denied applicants. Eder will join a list of 149 denials, revocations and findings of impropriety posted by the commission from January 1980 to June 2025.
In an email Monday, Eder’s attorney, Frank Schreck, said there is no right to appeal the gaming commission’s denial.
“Mr. Eder and Dreamscape are currently evaluating their options,” Schreck said in his email.
Eder was among three managers considered for licensing in the Dreamscape hearing.
Two others approved
Patrick Miller, President and CEO of Rio, and Christopher Balaban, CFO of the property, were up for licensing as key executives. In separate votes, commissioners unanimously approved their requests.
But when Eder was questioned in commission testimony, regulators brought up his work history with Seminole Gaming and its Hard Rock Hotel business where Eder worked for 20 years.
Hard Rock is currently building a guitar-shaped hotel tower on The Strip, remodeling what was once The Mirage.
Citing state statute, the Gaming Control Board denied the Review Journal access to its agents’ investigative report on Eder’s application.
But in more than 1½ hours of testimony before regulators, Eder explained how he was fired three years ago by Hard Rock for accepting a European trip from an insurance company vendor Eder described as a personal friend.
“I spent 20 years working my way up to CFO of Seminole Gaming,” Eder told commissioners. “Never had a blemish on my record. I know I made a serious mistake in accepting the gifts, compounded by a lack of judgment and being untruthful about the repayment.”
Eder had told his bosses he was repaying the cost of the trip, which included plane tickets, train tickets and luxury hotel stays.
Eder said he regretted that he “made a bad decision” and that he lost reputation and integrity in addition to his job.
“angry at myself”
“I’m angry at myself for these bad decisions. And I’m paying for these actions to terminate my employment. I lost my job. I lost money. I lost the opportunity to continue working with the tribe. And these are not small things.”
Commissioner Abbi Silver, a former Nevada Supreme Court justice, said based on state statute, she could not vote to approve Eder’s application.
“I have no doubt that you are not remorseful, but apparently under NRS 463.170, an application cannot be granted unless the commission is satisfied that the applicant is “a person of good character, honesty, and integrity.” You were the chief financial officer of a corporation where you breached your fiduciary duties and lied to your president. And in three years, you’re standing before us now, wanting to get back into the game. I’m seriously concerned that you’re a person with good character, honesty and integrity.”
When it came time to vote, the commissioners discussed the possibility of referring the matter back to the Board of Control for reconsideration and possible revocation of the license application.
Silver’s motion to dismiss was seconded by Commissioner George Markantonis, but opposed by Commissioners Brian Krolicki and Rosa Solis-Rainey. That left the final decision to Chairman Jennifer Togliatti, a former Clark County District Court judge, who also voted to deny.
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