Assemblyman’s joke may be primer for Nevada gambling law change

Nevada Assemblyman Jim Wheeler, R-Gardnerville, presents a measure in an Assembly Education Committee hearing at the Legislative Building in Carson City, Nev., on Monday, Feb. 23, 2015. (Cathleen Allison/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Gaming Policy Committee member A.G. Burnett, chairman, Nevada Gaming Control Board, during a meeting to discuss e-sports at the Clark County Commission chambers, 500 S. Grand Central Pkwy. on Friday, May 13, 2016. Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @jlscheid

CARSON CITY – Assemblyman Jim Wheeler got some chuckles out of fellow legislators with a lighthearted question on Tuesday about the biggest industry in Nevada that most residents already know.

“What’s the legal age for gaming in Nevada?” Wheeler, R-Gardnerville, asked A.G. Burnett, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

It came as Burnett gave a presentation on gaming Tuesday to the Assembly Judiciary Committee and Assembly Committee on Corrections, Parole, and Probation.

Wheeler quickly added he was joking — perhaps to set the stage for one of his legislative priorities.

He hopes the answer to age question changes because of Assembly Bill 86, a bill that would drop the state’s minimum age for gaming from 21 to 18 years old.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or (775)461-0661. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.