Las Vegas Casinos: The Mysterious Blacklist of the Gambling Industry

Curious about the mysterious blacklist from www.dreamjackpot.com or sin city? We have some inside knowledge on Las Vegas casinos and who has been blacklisted and you might be surprised to know just how many people are on the blacklist and how long it has been in operation.

The blacklist is sometimes known in Las Vegas as the Black Book of Vegas and this nickname is frequently used in reference to a list of players that are considered to be unwelcome in casinos in Sin City.

The name actually comes from the fact that the players who are listed are essentially “blacklisted”.

This term can either refer to a list of players which is officially kept by a certain gambling control board or by the Griffin Book.

If the list is controlled by the Griffin Book this information is shared with multiple casinos that subscribe to keep informed on those players who are banned in various casinos.

Why do Casinos Blacklist Players?

Quite simply it is in casinos best interest to ban certain individuals as if they don’t they would not only be putting their establishment at financial risk but they would also be putting themselves in legal difficulty if they allow the wrong individuals to play at their games.

For example, if casinos allow players that they know have gambling problems to play in their casinos if they are on the exclusion list and don’t do enough to stop them from playing in the casino.

There has been a case where players who have taken it upon themselves to put themselves on the exclusion list who have sued casinos for allowing them to place bets!

Why do Players get Blacklisted?

There are multiple reasons why players will get blacklisted and in terms of the gaming control boards, the main reason players get blacklisted are usually suspected of having, are specifically known to have links to organised crime and therefore casinos have an obligation to ban these players from entering the casino.

If they don’t do this there are legal repercussions for the casino and the casino could be shut down for failing to comply with regulations.

Apart from this, there are several other reasons why players would be blacklisted by casinos and the casinos’ black book is certainly not something you want your name in!

The state of Nevada has its own notorious black book which once you’re in it you won’t be removed.

There are over 30 people on this list that are known since the black book was inexpressible back in the 60s.

The black book is officially and the List of Excluded Persons and a lot of the individuals on the list were added because they were known to have associations with the mob.

These included infamous mob members such as Marshall Caifano who was a Las Vegas enforcer as well as a known Chicago mob member and Sam Giancana who was a Chicago mob boss with links to the CIA and was infamous for gaining control of a number of casinos in Las Vegas back in the 50s and 60s.

Another individual on the list is John Battaglia who was a notorious LA mobster as well as a prolific gambler who was also associated with the equally notorious Johnny Roselli, who was also intertwined with mob activity in the City of Sin.

The Nevada Gaming Commission also had their eye on notorious mob boss Louis Tom Dragna who was on the original list and is the only original member with their name still in the black book.

Louis Tom Dragna was believed by the Nevada Gaming Commission to be the mob boss of an organised criminal group and was therefore banned.

The black book isn’t actually a physical book anymore, although it did start out as one. It was created to stop people who had felonies in association with gambling from stepping foot in a legitimate casino.

Since 2000 only a few people have been added to this list which is minimal in comparison to how many people were added when it was first incepted.

The most recent notorious individual to be added the infamous lift is a convicted gambling cheat who was caught cheating on slot machines, Roderick William Dee II. He was added back in 2014 but passed away and was subsequently removed from the list.

Are more people being banned?

It may appear that more people than ever before and being blacklisted from casinos.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, approximately 25% more players have been blacklisted in the past four years than they were in the last 12 years.

Furthermore, a report into the US gaming industry showed that the entire industry is blacklisting more players in casinos during play than ever before due to enhanced technology being able to detect players who are cheating or counting cards.

There have also been a number of people being added to the Excluded Persons List for their involvement in money laundering which was founded to be 23 x higher in recent years than back in 2011 according to the American Gaming Association.

Is Card Counting Illegal? 

This is a common question that players have and one shrouded in controversy. Card counting is an advanced gambling strategy that players can train themselves to employ on games such as Blackjack where counting cards can allow a player to make more informed bets based on what cards have already been dealt.

Card counting isn’t illegal and many famous celebrities have trained themselves to count cards but although this isn’t an offence, casinos certainly don’t want players to count cards as this puts them at a disadvantage.

Therefore, if you’re caught card counting you may well be banned from the casino! Several celebrities have been banned from casinos for various reasons and card counting during Blackjack is one of the reasons many gambling loving celebs have been banned in casinos, not just in Vegas but around the world.

So, there we have it, some insight into Las Vegas casinos and their notorious blacklist as well as some of the most infamous mobsters to be banned from casinos.