P Gregory Giordano

Practice Areas

Gaming & Administrative Law

Career

Prior to becoming a private practice gaming attorney, Mr. Giordano first served as a Deputy Nevada Attorney General representing the Nevada Gaming Control Board (“NGCB”) and Nevada Gaming Commission (“NGC”), and then served, for four years, as the Chief of the Corporate Securities Division of the NGCB. In that position, he oversaw licensing investigations, analysis and monitoring of publicly traded corporations associated with Nevada gaming licensees. These included mergers and acquisitions, public and private financings, and compliance activities of business operations of publicly traded corporations and their subsidiaries. He also supervised the investigations for approvals and the subsequent monitoring of all gaming activities conducted outside the State of Nevada by Nevada gaming licensees, including multiple investigations conducted in foreign countries.

Mr. Giordano has decades of unmatched expertise in the details of Nevada gaming law and related licensing and regulatory procedures. In addition to serving as Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of Nevada’s Gaming Law Section, he is the Chief Editor and Author of the Nevada Gaming Law Practice and Procedure Manual and Co-Editor of Nevada Gaming Lawyer, both published by the State Bar of Nevada’s Gaming Law Section. Mr. Giordano is also a member of the Gaming Law Advisory Board of the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law and a member of the Editorial Board Advisory Committee for the UNLV Gaming Law Journal.

Mr. Giordano’s clients include gaming companies, financial institutions doing business with gaming companies, institutional investors and lenders from around the world, underwriters of gaming business leveraged buyouts and acquisition financings, lenders finding their loans to gaming companies requiring appointment of receivers or assistance in bankruptcy, and vendors to gaming companies having to address compliance obligations and possible licensing or gaming related approval issues. Mr. Giordano is also a member of the Gaming Compliance Committees of numerous U.S. and international gaming companies, and also serves as Special Counsel to and Chairman of these critical Committees.

Awards and Recognitions

Martindale-Hubbell – AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating (since 2002)

Business Today – Top 10 Influential Nevada Gaming & Licensing Lawyers (2023)

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business – Band 2 in Gaming & Licensing Law/Nevada and Band 2 in Gaming & Licensing Law/U.S.-Nationwide (2004-2024)

The Best Lawyers in America – Gaming Law (2005-2024)

The Best Lawyers in America – Administrative & Regulatory Law (2024)

Vegas Inc – Top Lawyers in Gaming Law (2022-2024)

Mountain States Super Lawyers – “Super Lawyers” (2007-2020, 2022-2024)

Professional Memberships

Chair, Spring Conference Program Committee, International Masters of Gaming Law, 2023

Vice Chair, Executive Committee, State Bar of Nevada’s Gaming Law Section

Vice Chair, ABA Business Law Section’s Gaming Law Committee

Member, International Association of Gaming Advisors

Member, International Masters of Gaming Law

Member, Gaming Law Advisory Board, UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law

Publications

Co-Editor, Nevada Gaming Lawyer, annual publication of the State Bar of Nevada’s Gaming Law Section

Member, Editorial Board Advisory Committee, UNLV Gaming Law Journal

Chief Editor and Author, Nevada Gaming Law Practice and Procedure Manual, State Bar of Nevada’s Gaming Law Section

Panel Presenter, “Pipeline to Leadership” program at Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, hosted by Affinity Bar Associations and State Bar of Nevada Board of Governors, Sections, and Committees, 2023

Panel Moderator, “Investment Opportunities in the Gambling Industry and Navigating the Regulatory Issues,” IMGL Spring Conference – 2023

IMGL Masterclass Presenter, “Antitrust and Regulatory Divestment: How Will the Consolidations of the Future Move Forward?”, National Council of Legislators from Gaming States Winter Meeting 2022

Author, “Recent Leadership and Position Changes within the Nevada Gaming Control Board,” Nevada Gaming Lawyer – September 2022

Presenter, “US/Canada Updates,” IMGL Autumn Conference 2022

Presenter, “Sports Betting: Lessons the USA Can Learn from Europe,” IMGL Spring Conference 2019

Presenter, “Government, Regulation & Compliance Roundtable Panel,” 26th Executive Development Program 2016

Presenter, “AML in Europe, US and Asia”, IMGL Autumn Conference – 2016

Presenter, “What is Gambling?”, ABA 20th Annual National Institute on Gaming Law Minefield – February 2016

Work Highlights

Representative Engagements

Represent Hard Rock International, as Nevada Gaming Counsel, in its agreement to acquire the operations of The Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for $1.075 billion and enter into a long-term lease agreement with VICI Properties Inc. for the real estate property of The Mirage.

Represent a major publicly traded gaming company in the acquisition of multiple casino operations in multiple states, including gaming and business licensing matters related to the acquisitions.

Represent a publicly traded auto/truck stop travel centers company in the acquisition and licensing of multiple plaza casino operations located on interstate highways in Nevada, including related suitability/licensing applications and hearings before the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Represent an active institutional investor based in New York as its outside gaming counsel and handle on a national basis all of its gaming regulatory filings in connection with its investments in the stock of various publicly traded companies involved in the U.S. gaming industry.

Represent two downtown Las Vegas hotel/casinos in connection with all Nevada gaming regulatory compliance requirements, including preparing the gaming application for the development of a new casino resort hotel planned for downtown Las Vegas.

Represent a Nevada-based national gaming company in connection with all Nevada gaming regulatory compliance requirements, including assisting executives in connection with findings of suitability/licensing applications and hearings before the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Represent buyer in obtaining state and local gaming regulatory approvals required in connection with the $32 million acquisition of a major hotel/casino and its related financing

Represent buyer in obtaining state and local gaming regulatory approvals required in connection with the $5 million acquisition of a 50% interest in a small hotel/casino

Represent buyer in the negotiation and purchase of a small casino for $8 million and in obtaining state and local gaming regulatory approvals required in connection with its purchase

Represent hotel/casino borrower in obtaining state gaming regulatory approvals required in connection with its new $185 million loan to finance an expansion project

Represent a Nevada publicly traded gaming company for Nevada gaming purposes in connection with two separate financing transactions involving both public offerings and private placements of its debt and equity securities, having a combined value of over $2 billion

Represent a consortium of noteholders for Nevada gaming purposes in connection with the default and workout of publicly registered notes issued by a Nevada gaming company

Represent the underwriter for Nevada gaming purposes in connection with its underwriting of over $2.4 billion of financing provided to finance the leveraged buyout of a Nevada publicly traded gaming company

Represent a number of Nevada publicly traded gaming companies in obtaining state gaming regulatory approvals for delayed or continuous public offerings of securities

Represent a number of institutional investors in obtaining waivers from the Nevada state gaming authorities of shareholder findings of suitability requirements in connection with their ownership of equity securities in Nevada publicly traded gaming companies

Represented a private equity company in connection with its foreclosure and acquisition of a major hotel/casino

Represent a private equity company in connection with the filing of applications required to obtain state and local gaming and liquor regulatory approvals necessary to acquire a majority equity interest in a major hotel/casino

Represent the bank/underwriter for Nevada gaming purposes in connection with its underwriting of a $750 million bond offering by a publicly traded Nevada gaming company

Represent a Nevada publicly traded gaming company for Nevada gaming purposes in connection with two separate joint venture agreements for the development of new hotel/casinos in the Las Vegas area

Represent a publicly traded seller for Nevada gaming purposes in the $2.1 billion sale of its hotel/casinos to a privately held company

Represent a Nevada publicly traded gaming company buyer in obtaining state and local gaming regulatory approvals required in connection with two separate, strategic acquisitions of other Nevada publicly traded gaming companies having a combined value of $14.3 billion

International Gaming

Represent a publicly traded company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in connection with all Nevada gaming regulatory compliance and reporting requirements, including advising on their future plans to undertake new gaming activities in Nevada. The company is a developer, manufacturer and seller of pachislot and pachinko machines and other game machines and peripheral equipment worldwide, and a developer and owner of casino resort businesses.

Represent an Asian-based private equity company in acquiring a Las Vegas resort/casino.

Represent a Swiss company and a United Kingdom company in connection with their obtaining Nevada gaming licenses and regulatory approvals for each to operate casino-resorts in Nevada

Represent a United Kingdom-based institutional investor in connection with it obtaining a waiver from the usual Nevada gaming finding of suitability requirements as a large shareholder of a publicly traded Nevada gaming company

Represent a Canadian company in connection with its application for a finding of suitability as a large shareholder of a publicly traded Nevada gaming company

Represent an Australian-headquartered manufacturer and distributor of gaming devices concerning various Nevada gaming regulatory and compliance