Question of the Day - 17 September 2021

Yes, there is a current Black Book, it is still enforced, and it can be viewed online.

It hasn’t been updated since May 28, 2019, but that doesn’t mean its 35 denizens can set foot in a casino. The only way to get out of the Black "Book” (which exists only in digital form now) is to die, as in the case of alumni Tony “The Ant” Spilotro and Lefty Rosenthal. Which means that, yes, Richard “The Fixer” Perry is still barred from Nevada gambling halls.

The Black Book was established by the Nevada Gaming Control Board as a reaction to Sen. Estes Kefauver’s early 1950s high-profile anti-crime hearings, some of which were held in the old Las Vegas courthouse, now (irony alert) the Mob Museum. The original Black Book inductee was Los Angeles mobster John Battaglia. He was so listed in 1960 and remained persona non grata until his demise — from natural causes — 15 years later. He initially tried to fight his proscription in court by attempting to have the Black Book declared unconstitutional. No dice. 

Thirty-two other inductees soon joined Battaglia, including Chicago Outfit kingpin Sam Giancana.

The most recent entrant was Mark William Branco, enrolled on May 23, 2019; the cause isn't listed, but Branco was the ringleader of a scam in a crap pit at Bellagio. He's representative of the more recent enrollments, which tend to go to people like slot cheats, not underworld perpetrators of grandiose skimming schemes.

And yes, there is a woman on the List of Excluded Persons. She’s mobbed-up Sandra Kay Vaccaro, last seen in Henderson, banned on October 2, 1986. Otherwise, it’s a boy’s club.

Given the proliferation of slot routes in Nevada, it’s difficult to set foot in a commercial establishment in Nevada without being in the presence of gambling. Fortunately for the Black Book members, a proviso foresaw this. “Once listed in the Black Book, if members are caught entering a restricted gaming establishment, they face a gross-misdemeanor charge. Exemptions include airports, bars, and stores with 15 slot machines or less and no gaming tables.”

Nevada Governor Grant Sawyer (he served from 1959 to 1967) remains the father of the Black Book. Some of his successors were less stringent, most notoriously Ronald Reagan consigliere Paul Laxalt. The two-year lapse since the most recent Black Book induction suggests that either casino cheats are getting smarter or the deterrent power of the List of Excluded Persons is working.