Question of the Day - 02 January 2023

The Nevada State Gaming Control Board's "List of Excluded Persons" was first initiated in 1960 as part of the clampdown on organized crime in the casino business; the first 11 names added all belonged to reputed mobsters, of whom the best-known was Sam Giancana. He was the Chicago Outfit's top boss from 1957 to 1966 and was fairly notorious for his supposed role in the assassination of John F. Kennedy (Sam's long-time girlfriend was Phyllis McGuire who, according to at least one source, was having an affair with JFK). 

In 1978, a name that should be familiar to readers of this website, Tony "the Ant" Spilotro, joined the ranks of excluded persons. It was a relatively short-lived presence, however; Spilotro was murdered in 1986. He was followed, in 1989 finally, by Spilotro contemporary and colleague Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, after more than a decade in which Lefty successfully evaded the regulators' clutches. By then, though Rosenthal had moved to Florida. 

By this time, the emphasis had shifted from organized crime and was beginning to focus more on casino cheats, while the attrition of passing years meant that many former members were deceased and their names removed; hence, Lefty was in an exclusive club of only 14 remaining names in the Black Book when he was admitted to this dubious pantheon.

In recent years, as far as well-known names are concerned, perhaps the most notorious on the current list is that of former Huntington Press employee Ron Harris, the Gaming Control Board tech wiz who "went bad" and ended up serving time for gaffing slot machines in the mid-'90s. There was something of a flurry that year, in fact, with eight new names being added, the most in a 12-month period since the list was begun.

The only other well-known name currently on the list is that of Richie "the Fixer" Perry, whom Anthony Curtis recalls from his early days in Vegas and was at the center of the college-basketball controversy that ultimately took down UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian.

Currently, 35 people reside in the Book; to see them all, click here.