Customer Reviews

The Black Book and the Mob: The Untold Story of the Control of Nevada's Casinos

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The authors, criminal justice professors at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, argue that the "Black Book", (the list of persons excluded from participation in legal gambling), is maintained by the State of Nevada for symbolic purposes, to assert an image of control and propriety.

The Black Book is further tainted by its focus on stereotypical ethnic types, largely Italian Americans, to the exclusion of others, like the Mormans, who actually wield great power in Nevada gaming but suffer no opprobrium as a result.

Interesting reading.

When I first purchased the book, it was only because it dealt with the mob and Las Vegas. Once I began to read the book, it really made me think and the really great part of the book is that it examines each person and the reasons that they were included in the black book. If you like the mafia and you love Vegas, then you ought to read this one.

The book written to show prejudice and a white wash of Nevada's casino industry instead showed the lack of research of the authors. The question asked apparently is should Frank Rosenthal or Carl Thomas be in the "Black Book"? My answer is why are so few others included. A review of those included in the "Black Book" show an unusually high number of convicted skimmers and bookmakers. Wouldn't these be the people most likly to cause problems within the casino industry. As for the case of poor Frank Masterana-he ran the largest bookmaking operation in the Dominican Republic until he was closed down and then moved to Latin America where he continues to operate an illegal establishment. I agree that there is a high number of Italian-Americans in the "Black Book" but most bookmaking throughout the US is controlled by those of Italian desent so of course they would represent a high number of gaming offenses and the related extortion and loan-sharking.