Nevada Adds Two Names To Black Book Of Banned GamblersBellagio Craps Scheme Lands Anthony Granito and James Cooper On Excluded List |
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The Nevada Gaming Control Board has added two more names to their “black book,” a list of gamblers who are no longer welcome in any of the state’s casinos. With the addition of Anthony Granito and James Cooper, the book is now up to 34 names.
Granito and Cooper were part of a four-man team that scammed the Bellagio out of an estimated $1.2 million between 2012 and 2014. Cooper, a craps dealer, and Granito, a player, were in cahoots with fellow craps dealer Mark Branco, and Jeffrey Martin.
Whenever Cooper and Branco were working the same table, Granito and Martin would play. When a shooter rolled the dice, the two players would mumble a “hop bet” under their breath, and the dealers would confirm a “winning” bet after the roll.
The players were able to disguise their scheme for two years because they lost enough to avoid suspicion, but casino authorities noticed the long-shot payouts that kept happening when they played. In addition to their illegal winnings, the players also received tens of thousands of dollars in casino comps.
Cooper, who cooperated with detectives during the investigation, was sentenced to serve two to five years in prison. Granito and Martin were sentenced to serve three to eight, while Branco, the alleged mastermind of the plot, was given four to ten.
The “black book” was originally created in 1960 with 11 names, and is reserved for cheats and gamblers with ties to organized crime, not card counters. Anyone can be nominated for the book following a felony gaming conviction, but nominees can dispute their inclusion at a public hearing if they choose to do so.
The list include mob associates, slot-machine riggers, illegal bookmakers, convicted racketeers, and even bank robbers. Some gamblers have also been added to the book, only to be removed years later after appeals, but death is the only sure way to get off it.
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