Casino blacklist person

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — It started in the s as a way to protect the reputation of Nevada gaming.

It's a so-called black book of excluded persons. As of last week, 36 people are on the list.

Former Mayor Oscar Goodman represented more than a few.

“How many clients of yours ended up in the book?” he was asked during a Thursday interview.

“Most,” he answers. “Most of my clients ended up in the book.”

To say Goodman has led a colorful life would be an understatement: from long-time attorney for accused organized crime figures to serving as a popular Mayor for the City of Las Vegas.

MORE | Man listed in Nevada's 'black book' arrested for entering Las Vegas Strip casino

His history with, and memory of, Southern Nevada runs deep -- including the black book.

“The gaming authorities didn't like them [his clients]. They didn't care for their ethnicity. There were an awful lot of Italian Americans who were placed in the book.”

The list is made up of men and women who are no longer allowed inside Nevada casinos.

People are described as having notorious or unsavory reputations that could affect the public’s confidence in the gaming industry.

Goodman says that on one hand, he understands why it was created.

“If the person who was put in the book cheated? Put them in the book,” he says. “I see a purpose when it has to do with cheating.”

But he thinks many of his clients were unfairly targeted.

“You buy a dime store novel that says something bad about Denise,” he says. "'Oh look, Denise's reputation is ruining Nevada, let's put her in the book.' You're a dead duck. You're in the book.”

Goodman says what many people called the mob, or organized crime, no longer exists in Las Vegas. In fact, many of his clients were removed from the black book because they died.

Instead, there's a new type of felon on the rise.

“The list has always evolved,” says Senior Deputy Attorney General Mike Somps.

During a hearing last week, Kendrick Laronte Weatherspoon became the latest person banned from Nevada casinos.

He’s accused of violence against women and forcing them into prostitution along the Strip.

“The types of individuals placed on the list over the years have changed depending on the problems of the time,” explained Somps to members of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Then on Monday, the black book once again made headlines when Tasia Musa was arrested for entering the Paris casino. He’s been on the list since

According to his most recent arrest report, Musa is described as a “prolific chip thief” who police say “has hit multiple casinos throughout the years.”

The report reads that Musa asked officers to let him go with a warning. They declined.

“The casino could lose their license and the person could be found guilty of a gross misdemeanor and get a year [in jail]. It's serious business,” says Goodman.

Much of Goodman’s history with the list can be found in “The Black Book and the Mob,” a published account of those early years and the fight for control of Nevada casinos.

He offers this final piece of advice.

“People should be grateful that Nevada has the gambling regulation that it has,” says Goodman. “But it shouldn't be abused.”