Jim Evans Has Worked in the Offices of Jerry Brown, Mark DeSaulnier, and Darrell Steinberg.
Jim Evans is the new chairman of the California Gambling Control Commission. Evans is set to preside over one of the pivotal moments in California gaming history, as the country’s most populous state continues to lumber along the path towards legalizing online gambling. With over 140 land-based gaming venues and some of those gaming interests battling each other over the future of the Golden State’s gambling laws, Jim Evans should have plenty of issues to resolve.
In fact, the first issue Evens has to resolve is the conflict-of-interest allegations which plagued the man he’s replacing. Those allegations appear to have caused Richard J. Lopes to announce his retirement as the Gambling Control Commission’s chairman in May 2015.
Richard Lopes’s Resignation
The allegations against Richard Lopes invovle his connection to Robert E. Lytle, the former head of Gambling Enforcement for California. Lopes and Lytle worked together during Lytle’s 30-year career at the U.S. Justice Department, prior to his appointment to the post in California.
In 2003, then-California Attorney General Bill Lockyer appointed Robert Lytle to be the director of the Division of Gambling Control. At the time, Gambling Control was its own division, and not the bureau it is these days. This was a sort of redundancy, because the California AG appointed this position in the California Department of Justice, while the California government appointed the Gaming Control Commission itself.
Robert Lytle at the California DoJ
Robert Lytle remained in his position as the gaming control officer of the California Department of Justice from 2003 to 2007. During that time, several investigations of San Jose-based Casino M8trix floundered. This might not have caused a stir, were it not for Robert Lytle’s post-administration career.
When Lytle left the gaming control position in 2007, he took a position as a consultant for Casino M8trix. He was the casino’s “industry consultant and compliance officer”. Once again, this did not seem to be an issue, until May 2014, when California Attorney General Kamala Harris began to make allegations against Lytle. (It should be noted that Kamala Harris and Robert Lytle are both Democrats, so the allegations were no politically-motivated.)
Kamala Harris’s Accusations
In May 2014, the office of AG Kamala Harris called for Casino M8trix to have its gaming license remove. The AG accused the casino of skimming $119 million in profits, then laundering that money by running it through a series of shell companies. Also, Kamala Harris stated that company refused to comply with document requests from the government.
In December 2014, the Attorney General accused Robert Lytle of several series breaches of ethics. She accused him of negotiating with Casino M8trix for a position at the company before leaving his position in the California government. She also alleged that he maintained contact with people inside the AG’s Gambling Enforcement bureau after he left office, in violation of a 3-year “cooling off” period for lobbyists. Finally, she accused him of receiving confidential information about the ongoing Casino M8trix investigations from people in that bureau.
Richard Lopes
In February 2015, the old connection between Richard J. Lopes and Robert Lytle became an issue. At the time, Mr. Lopes said he would recuse himself from any further investigation of Casino M8trix or Robert E. Lytle. That was not enough to save the former AG Gambling Control bureau chief, perhaps because of his delay in recusing himself.
Though no direct charges were made against Mr. Lopes, the information about leaks from Lopes’s bureau and the general cloud of suspicion hanging over Mr. Lytle and Casino M8trix forced his resignation. The scandal involves enough money that the news media is going to report it prominently. Prison time is not out of the question for Casino M8trix officials.
Lytle Investigation’s Impact on Online Gambling
The investigation could impact the development of online gambling legislation in the near-future, too. Gaming lobbyist David Quintana says that the Lytle investigation could hurt the chances of California Internet gambling laws being passed anytime soon.
Quintana told reporter Dave Palermo, “I hope they get this cleared up because this could create noise for the whole I-poker effort. We’re talking about the regulatory body that is supposed to be overseeing I-poker. If the regulatory system is in question, that could cause some very critical votes to go south. This noise has got to be done away with.”
Richard Schuetz, one of the members of the governor-appointed Gambling Control Commission, backs up the opinion of Mr. Quintana. Schuetz said recently, “An accusation suggesting there is corruption within the regulatory environment could become a sticking point with respect to a desire to expand gambling in the state with I-poker. That’s one of the biggest implications of this. It may impact the I-gaming debate. One of the biggest issues with I-poker is regulations.”
About Jim Evans
Jim Evans left a position as the deputy press secretary for Governor Jerry Brown two weeks ago. Evans, a Democrat, had worked in that position since 2013. Before 2013, Jim Evans worked as a consultant for then-State Senator Mark DeSaulnier. He also worked in the office of then-Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, as Steinberg’s Communications Director.
The new position requires a senate confirmation vote. If confirmed in his position as the Chairman of the Gambling Control Commission, Jim Evans would receive $138,867 a year.
