The five newly appointed officials in charge of gaming in South Africa's Western Cape Province will be in Las Vegas next week to be trained at UNLV's International Gaming Institute.

The members of the Western Cape Gambling & Racing Board will be on campus Monday through May 23 to receive training in a wide variety of areas related to gaming regulation and the organizational structure of a regulatory agency.

Shannon Bybee, director of the International Gaming Institute, said he is pleased that the officials from Western Cape Province have chosen the institute as the place to train.

"It's another recognition that we at UNLV are the premiere trainer of gaming regulators in the world," said Bybee, noting that the institute has provided training to a number of South African gamers since last summer. South Africa legalized a limited number of casinos in certain provinces about two years ago, he said. Since that time the provinces have been enacting related laws and selecting gaming officials.

"Having good gaming control is important to protect Nevada's gaming industry," Bybee said, adding that gaming problems anywhere in the world cast a negative light on gaming in general, which hurts Nevada. That's particularly true if the gaming companies that get in trouble elsewhere also do business in Nevada, he said.

Topics to be covered in next week's training session also include the sociology of gaming and how to develop a request for proposal. As part of their training, the South Africans will attend a meeting of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

UNLV's International Gaming Institute is located in the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration.

For additional information, contact Bybee at (702) 895-3412.