LAS VEGAS - Scott Scherer, Gov. Kenny Guinn's chief of staff, is weighing a move to replace retiring Steve DuCharme as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Scherer said he and Guinn have discussed the $105,000-a-year job, but he has made no decision whether to seek the position.
He noted that if he were to take the post, it would make it difficult for him to run for attorney general in two years. As chairman, he would be prohibited from raising casino money for a campaign.
In 1998, Scherer was an unsuccessful Republican candidate against Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, a Democrat.
Citing unnamed sources, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported in its Saturday editions that Scherer is considered the favorite to replace DuCharme.
The newspaper said he's believed to head Guinn's list after a falling out between Scherer and Denise Miller, Guinn's top policy adviser.
His appointment to the post could come within the next two weeks, the Review-Journal added.
Scherer's name surfaced after DuCharme's retirement was announced Friday.
DuCharme was appointed by then-Gov. Bob Miller to the three-member board in 1991 and was selected to replace Bill Bible as chairman in September 1998.
DuCharme this weekend is in San Diego, where he will marry Patty Becker, a top executive at the Aladdin.
After his retirement takes effect Jan. 1, the 53-year-old DuCharme said he would decide what to do next.
''I don't have any plans, but I'm way too young to fully retire,'' he said.
