Guy W. Farmer : The First Sawyer Administration

Guy W. Farmer, a longtime northern Nevada journalist, writer, and editor, first came to Carson City in January 1962 and served as Public Information Officer for the Nevada Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board from August 1963 through 1966. Farmer's principal responsibilities were to serve as press spokesman for the gaming control agencies and as liaison officer with state and national media. His recollections of the early members of the Commission and Control Board are vital memories of Nevada's once unique gaming control system, which has become the regulatory model for many of the states that have legalized casino gambling over the past forty years. One of the most talked about incidents during Guy Farmer's association with the administration of Governor Grant Sawyer was the highly publicized 1963 Frank Sinatra-Sam Giancana episode. Giancana, undisputed godfather of the Chicago mafia family, was listed in Nevada's Black Book, officially prohibiting him from entering casino properties. Giancana was found to be staying at Sinatra's secluded Cal-Neva Lodge on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, and Sinatra refused to make Giancana leave his property, which resulted in the revocation of Sinatra's gaming license. Farmer recounts details of the investigation and the obscene phone conversation between Frank Sinatra and Gaming Control Board Chairman Edward A. Olsen. The Sinatra case created nationwide media interest, and throughout the investigations and hearings, Farmer, as press spokesman, was largely responsible for keeping the rest of the nation informed as to the positive actions the gaming control agencies were taking to reduce the influence of organized crime in Nevada casinos. With the help of state regulators such as Guy Farmer and others, who enforced gaming regulations without fear or favor, legislation was passed that created the Nevada Gaming Commission. In 1967 Guy Farmer accepted a position as an American diplomat with the U.S. Information Agency, which operated overseas information and cultural programs. Following his retirement in 1995, Farmer moved back to Carson City, where he serves as an English/Spanish courtroom interpreter and writes a weekly political column for the Nevada Appeal.Farmer, Guy W. is the author of 'Guy W. Farmer : The First Sawyer Administration', published 2006 under ISBN 9781564753908 and ISBN 1564753905.