By Scott Shaffer

The Nevada Athletic Commission has a new  chairman. Yesterday, Raymond "Skip" Avansino, Jr. was unanimously selected as chairman replacing John Bailey. Avansino was president and CEO  of Hilton Corp, a former Nevada Ethics Commission Vice-Chairman, and a former member of the Nevada Gaming Commission. As part of this selection, he opted to not appoint a vice-chairman, which means that Tony Alamo, Jr. will no longer hold that position.  The presence of Alamo has been a lightning rod for criticism because it was part of Alamo's job to regulate Mandalay Bay, a major host of Las Vegas boxing events, and Alamo's father is a vice-president of Mandalay Bay.  The conflict of interest concerns were so serious that Senator John McCain asked the governor of Nevada to investigate in 2003. The Nevada commission is made up of five part-time members, each of whom is appointed by the Governor for a three year term. The chairman is elected annually by the five Commission members.  The most visible comission executive is Marc Ratner, who remains in the position of executive director.