Governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval has revealed the names of the new 11 members of the Gaming Policy Committee. Sandoval appointed five members according to reports from the Associated Press. The five members are Keith Smith, Jim Murren, Sallie Becker, Mark Bruce, and Paul Mathews Jr.

All five members bring a great amount of knowledge and experience in the gambling industry and Las Vegas, with Keith Smith being the Boyd Gaming Corp. CEO, Jim Murren being the MGM Resorts CEO, Sallie Becker from Bomas Grill in Las Vegas, Mark Bruce a Reno attorney, and Paul Mathews Jr. from social gambing IncuBET in Las Vegas.

The two chairs that are on the state’s Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission were given seats on the Gaming Policy Committee automatically. These two legislative representatives are Senator Valerie Wiener and Assemblyman William Horne. Tribal representation will be monitored by Arlan Melendez, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony Chairman.

The CEO’s that have been appointed onto the Gaming Policy Committee will be able to promote online poker and online gambling, as both CEO’s represent corporations that are interested in pursing online gambling.

Online gambling is the next step in gambling expansion for many casinos in Las Vegas. MGM Resorts International certainly needs a new source of revenue, as they have been carrying debt for quite some time now. With the CEO of MGM Resorts on the Gaming Policy Committee, will he help steer the gambling industry in the direction that will most favour MGM?

It looks like Nevada is doing well with gambling revenue, as they are reported an increase in revenue for the second successive month. For the state as a whole, gambling revenue rose by 7.1% in November, bringing that number to $880.1 million. Compared to the year prior to that, it’s almost a $60 million increase, when the number was $822 million.

The Las Vegas Strip of course accounted for over half of the revenue, and revenues rose 9% to equate to $495.3 million.

Over in Atlantic City however, the gaming revenue entered the black for the first time in years. This shows that Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the two U.S. casino strongholds are actually doing well, and seem to be holding it together.

Of course, when things start to get better, someone throws a wrench in there to mess things up. It looks like plans are being made by many states to expand their gambling industry. From Florida, looking to open up three resort casinos, to New York, which is looking compete with Las Vegas.

It may only be the second week of 2012, but it’s been a very busy time for the gambling industry. By the end of the year, there might be more casinos than ever.

With the big announcement that the United States Department of Justice made in regards to online gambling, and the interpretation of the 1961 Wire Act, it looks like states will be able to offer online poker this year.

There is concern over this new change, and the Nevada Attorney General’s office has started studying the change, and how it could affect the state.

There’s no doubt that the race for first state to offer online poker is on, and it looks like it could be very close, as New Jersey and Nevada are leading so far. Nevada will likely win this race, as they had their new regulations approved last month, and New Jersey still has to go through the legislative process, as well as the governor. Once one state starts offering online poker, it will lead to a domino effect, and chances are, one by one, each state will start offering up online poker as well.

The gaming industry is bracing themselves for the madness that is about to happen, and they are also preparing for the fact that each state may have different legal and regulatory standards, and tax rates too.

Industry leaders have made it clear how important it is for lawmakers to pass legislation to regulate online poker play before the rush of offshore online poker site operators start pouring in.

It’s still just a few days into 2012, but what a way to start the year!