Richard Bunker, Las Vegas gaming, government and water icon, dies at 85

Richard Bunker, whose career included stints as head of the Nevada Resort Association, Gaming Control Board and Colorado River Commission of Nevada, died Sunday morning in Las Vegas. He was 85.

Bunker died after battling a brain tumor that was diagnosed just three weeks before his death, according to his son Morgan Bunker.

Richard Bunker was a fourth-generation Southern Nevadan, according to his son.

“My great-great-grandfather settled Bunkerville,” the younger Bunker said. “We’ve been the fabric of the community for that long.”

Richard Bunker began his civic career as assistant city manager for Las Vegas, working his way up to deputy city manager and later becoming Clark County manager. While he was at the county in 1977, Bunker gave former Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy her first job, Mulroy said Sunday.

In 1979, Bunker was tapped by Gov. Robert List to become a member of the Gaming Control Board. He eventually became chair of the board, at the same time that former Sen. Harry Reid was chair of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

“It was the two of them that led the effort to run the mob out of Las Vegas,” Mulroy said Sunday.

Next, Bunker moved into the private sector, becoming treasurer of Circus Circus, then president of the Dunes Hotel and, in 1986, an executive of the Aladdin Hotel.

In 1990, Bunker became president of the Nevada Resort Association, lobbying for gaming issues. Seven years later, he was appointed chairman of the Colorado River Commission, where he then turned his lobbying to the issue of water in Southern Nevada.

“He constantly found Nevada fighting for its fair share,” Morgan Bunker said Sunday.

Among the issues Bunker lobbied on were responsible usage by the other users on the Colorado river, brokering agreements to broker more water than Southern Nevada’s specific allotments, and the banking of water in Arizona, “all the while just looking to secure more water for Southern Nevada.”

Bunker retired from the river commission in about 2010, according to his son. He continued to do lobby work on a contract basis for several years after that.

Morgan Bunker said his father’s success as a lobbyist was the result of his assertive, yet generous, personality.

“He was one of those people who always listened to the facts and was always willing to reverse his thought process if someone came up with evidence supporting something else,” Morgan Bunker said. “He would listen to anybody. He would make you feel like the only one in a room of thousands when he was talking to you.”

Above all, Richard Bunker wanted the best for his community, his son said.

“He said, ‘Our community has been very good to us’ — meaning he and his family,” Morgan Bunker said. “He always felt a need to give back and promote Nevada.”

Bunker is survived by his wife, Carole, and four children — three in Las Vegas and one in Amarillo, Texas — as well as 12 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a brother and sister.

Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com. Follow @lauxkimber on Twitter.