College Basketball Daily Report

Georgetown Coach John Thompson’s application for a state gaming license to become a partner in the company that operates slot machines at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport quickly gained some key opposition.

The president of Georgetown and the NCAA said they were opposed to Thompson having any interest in a gaming operation.

“Our position is that it is inappropriate for an active Georgetown University coach to have investments in the gaming industry,” said the Rev. Leo O’Donovan, Georgetown’s president.

Cedric Dempsey, the NCAA executive director, said it would be “ill-advised for anyone connected to college sports to be involved, even peripherally, with gambling interests.”

Dempsey also said he had “strong concerns about the image statement that this makes about the sport and about him as a coach.”

Thompson applied last year for a state gaming license to own 10% of a company controlled by Michael Gaughan that runs the slot machine concession at the Las Vegas airport.

State gaming regulators have yet to rule on Thompson’s application for a gaming license, which company owner Gaughan said was filed about nine months ago. Gaming license investigations normally take about a year to complete.

Bill Shapland, Georgetown’s senior sports communications director, said Thompson would not talk about his gaming application.

Thompson told The Washington Post earlier he had spoken to O’Donovan about the issue once and indirectly several times.

“It is not a secret,” Thompson said. “I’m not interested in somebody’s opinion if it’s not an NCAA rule. I won’t violate anybody’s NCAA rule in anything as long as I’m a member of the organization. The only opinion I’m concerned about is Father O’Donovan’s. I’ll make decisions on what I do based on his opinion.”