Dave Johnson could have had a career as a standup comedian, according to his Nevada legal colleagues.
“Instead, he was an exceptional gaming lawyer,” said Frank Schreck, who hired Johnson away from the Nevada Attorney General’s Office in the 1980s for Las Vegas law firm. “When he was in private practice, I’d say he was one of the top six or seven gaming lawyers in the country.”
Dave Johnson
Schreck, now a partner in the national Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck law firm, said Wednesday Johnson, who died last week at age 67 after a long illness, “had one of the best senses of humor and great timing of anybody I’ve known.”
Sometimes, Johnson’s humor helped break the tension in during a contentious Nevada regulatory hearing. Once he was representing a race and sports book manager who was under scrutiny by the Gaming Control Board for take bets from a friend over the phone, which was against regulations. In the middle of the heated a questioning, a cell phone went off. Johnson immediately said, “That’s my client’s friend. He wants to get money down on the Packers this weekend.” The hearing room erupted in laughter and defused some of the pressure.
“Dave could get away with it, I sure couldn’t,” Schreck said, recalling the hearing.
In addition to his time with the Attorney General – where he was chief of the gaming division – and in private practice, Johnson was general counsel for several gaming companies, including Bally Technologies, Anchor Gaming, International Game Technology and Everi Holdings.
TJ Matthews, who was CEO of both Anchor Gaming and IGT, said Johnson had “a bigger than life” personality.
“Dave Johnson was a wonderful colleague and friend who lightened each room he entered,” Matthews said. “Though an expert in gaming law, it is his warm humanity that will be missed most.”
Johnson, a native of Sioux City, Iowa, graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1975 and earned his Juris Doctor from Creighton School of Law in Nebraska in 1978. He returned to Las Vegas following law school.
“As an in-house counsel, your experience becomes much broader,” Schreck said. “That experience made him a better attorney.”
Connie Jones, the director of responsible gaming for the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, who worked with Johnson at IGT, said he was “a force in the industry” for many years.
“He had a kind heart, a brilliant mind and was a great story teller,” Jones said.
Johnson was also recalled for his life-long hobby that revolved around music, including his sophisticated sounds systems, vinyl record collection and numerous guitars. He also had a passion for cars and motorcycles.
“Yes, he had a thing for fast cars and motorcycles,” said Charles Brooke, a longtime friend and retired gaming executive who worked with Johnson at Anchor and IGT. “He especially enjoyed exchanging his suit and tie for his ridding leathers and getting away on his Harley for one of our trips to Mexico or the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. Dave often said that ridding his Harley helped to put him in the ‘now’ and served to remind him that life is about the journey and not the destination.”
Johnson is survived by his wife, Sharon, his mother, Phyllis Eggenweiler, his son Griffin, his daughter Meredith, one grandson and his brother John Bertza. Services are pending.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
