CARSON CITY -- A $265,000 contract for an outside legal firm to look into Las Vegas and its dealings with the Royal Links Golf Club was approved Monday by the Board of Examiners, which includes Gov. Kenny Guinn.

The contract, sought by Attorney General George Chanos, was approved by the board on a 2-0 vote. Secretary of State Dean Heller also supported the funding for the investigation by San Francisco-based Senn Meulemans LLP.

Chanos, the third member of the panel, which reviews and approves state contracts, abstained from the vote.

He sought the outside contract after disclosing that a separate land issue is coming before the Las Vegas City Council involving property in which he has an interest. That issue could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest if his office chose to investigate the Royal Links matter on its own, he said.

That same unrelated land issue before the council prompted Chanos to abstain from voting on the contract for the outside investigation.

Chanos will not be directly involved in the oversight of the investigation. That responsibility will go to Assistant Attorney General Randal Munn. Chanos said he has created a wall between himself and the investigation.

The investigation is expected to last three to six months and will piggyback on work done by Las Vegas police and the Clark County district attorney's office.

Chanos said the investigation will be more comprehensive than the work done by other agencies.

"We're looking at the transaction from its inception to the present, both civilly and criminally," he said.

The investigation, which Chanos announced with a letter to the city dated Nov. 15, surrounds the development, lease and sale of the golf course property to developer Bill Walters and the city's vote earlier this month to lift a deed restriction that had prevented Walters from building homes on the land. That vote later was rescinded after Chanos announced his plan to investigate the matter.

Contacted by phone after the Board of Examiners vote, Walters said he will cooperate with any investigation by the attorney general's office.

"My only thought is, if there are any questions that need to be answered, we would like to see them answered as soon as possible," he said.

Walters said he wants the issue to be resolved because he then could move forward with the development of the Royal Links property.

He wants a deed restriction lifted on the 160-acre course to allow the construction of 1,200 homes.

The restriction was put in place when Walters bought the property several years ago because of the proximity of the land to the city's sewer treatment plant.

During the brief discussion of the contract, Heller questioned Chanos about the need for an outside investigator versus an internal attorney general investigation.

Chanos said an independent review is "the most bullet-proof way to proceed."

Heller said he had not been lobbied on how to vote on the contract and had received questions only about why a California firm was chosen.

Chanos said the firm has expertise in real estate litigation and has performed investigations before.