The Nevada Gaming Commission has deferred action on a petition to remove Francis Citro from the Black Bookwhile commissioners seek access to transcripts and documentation from the 1991 hearing that led to his exclusion.
Commission Chair Jennifer Togliatti said that the request will be reviewed at the commission’s February 26 meeting. Commissioners indicated they wanted to review the reasons for Citro’s placement on the List of Excluded Persons before deciding whether to conduct a hearing on his petition.
Citro, a Las Vegas resident, is the first individual to petition the commission for removal from the list. Regulators and the Nevada Attorney General’s Office did not provide records from the 1991 hearing during the meeting.
Citro, 80, submitted the petition in November through his attorney, Michael Lasher. He was placed on the list on November 21, 1991.
In a 10-page filing, Lasher argued that Citro’s circumstances have changed since his inclusion more than three decades ago. Lasher wrote, “In the decades that have passed, petitioner’s character and reputation have become stellar. He is a reformed man, doing good for his community by charity fundraising as an entertainer.”
Commissioner Abbi Silver said she was not prepared to decide on holding a hearing without first reviewing details related to Citro’s original listing.
Commission staff or legal counsel are expected to provide a transcript from the 1991 meeting. Commissioners said they will review whether Citro remains a concern for the gaming industry.
Citro is one of 37 individuals currently listed on the List of Excluded Persons, which bars those named from entering Nevada’s largest casinos. He was convicted of four felonies and was placed on the list based on findings related to his reputation and its effect on the state’s gaming industry.
During the 1991 hearing, commissioners cited several convictions: a guilty plea on August 18, 1980, to extortion in US District Court in Nevada; a guilty plea on July 31, 1987, to conspiracy to use counterfeit credit cards, also in Nevada District Court; and a February 3, 1986, conviction under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in US District Court for the Central District of California. Citro served a two-year prison sentence and was later placed on probation.
Commission rules require a decision on whether to conduct a hearing within 90 days of a petition’s filing. To allow additional time for record review, Citro was required to waive that deadline. Lasher consulted with Citro during a break in the meeting, and Citro agreed to the waiver.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/01/30/117368-nevada-gaming-commission-delays-review-of-first-black-book-removal-petition
