CHARLESTON, W.Va. — John Myers, who worked for a decade at West Virginia Lottery, made a rather sudden return.
Myers, who has been Secretary of Administration, made it known about a week ago that he’d be interested in returning to Lottery.
He worked at the West Virginia Lottery from 2008 to 2017 and was acting director from 2015-2017.
Former Lottery Director Alan Larrick resigned suddenly Sept. 1, right as sports betting was making its debut at West Virginia casinos.
“When the director left, I threw my name in the hat as the successor,” Myers told reporters today. “I wasn’t privy to the leaving of the previous director nor the selection process.”
This week got off to a tough start for the agency.
On Monday, interim director Doug Buffington fielded tough questions from lawmakers about about the leadership of the agency, what’s the status of the general counsel and if he understands lawmakers had no intention of imposing a financial arrangement between leagues and casinos.
“There are a lot of rumors floating around. The rumors are still there,” said Senate Finance Chairman Craig Blair, R-Berkeley. “Some of them I know the answers to on what’s going on, and it’s just disturbing the hell out of me right now.”
A day later, there was a change.
Myers started Tuesday with his regular Department of Administration duties, chairing a grievance board hearing. By 2 o’clock, he was summoned to the Governor’s Office.
“They told me I’d been selected as the new director,” said Myers, who declined to elaborate on who else was at the meeting in the Governor’s Office. (“Is that a personnel matter?” Myers said, laughing.)
By 2:30, he’d been offered the Lottery role. By 3:27 p.m., the news release went out.
Myers spent a couple of hours Wednesday morning at Lottery headquarters in Charleston before taking a seat front and center for a monthly commission meeting. He received congratulations — and some lighthearted condolences — from many who attended.
“It’s kind of like it was an investment for me the first nine years I was here. I had to learn this business. It’s been something I grew very fond of, had a lot of good relationships with people over the years,” Myers said.
His veteran presence may calm a rocky situation.
Soon after Larrick’s departure, general counsel Danielle Boyd went off the job. Boyd, who was Lottery’s most knowledgeable resource on sports betting, did not attend today’s commission meeting.
“I really don’t have any information on that at all,” Myers told reporters after today’s meeting. “I wasn’t here for any of it and have not had any discussion.”
The top-level vacancies at Lottery have fallen against the backdrop of a deadline to finish legislative rules that would govern sports betting over the long-term.
Professional sports leagues have continued to push for the rules to include a requirement that official statistics to be used for in-game bets in exchange for “commercially-reasonable terms” to be determined by Lottery.
West Virginia lawmakers rejected the concept of “integrity fees” during the regular legislative session and have continued to say there is no basis to include a government-mandated financial arrangement in the regulations.
Asked who is left to ride herd on the legislative rules governing sports betting, Myers said, “I assume it’ll be me.”
During interim meetings this week, lawmakers asked about Lottery’s leadership — including what’s become of Boyd — and about continued lobbying by professional sports leagues such as Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the PGA Tour.
Myers told reporters today that his meeting in the Governor’s Office included little discussion of sports betting, except to acknowledge that he needs to get up to speed.
“I had approaching 10 years here when I was here before. And I told them up front, ‘I’ve got to get up to speed on sports betting.’ That’s about what it comes down to,” Myers said.