A longtime Las Vegas performer has asked regulators to reconsider a 1991 casino ban that prevents him from appearing in casino lounge venues.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Nevada Gaming Commission is expected to decide on Thursday whether it will consider granting a hearing for Francis Citro, 80, who was placed on the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s List of Excluded Persons on November 21, 1991. The list, commonly referred to as the “Black Book,” bars named individuals from entering the state’s casinos.
Citro’s request is unusual. Removals from the list generally occur only after a person’s death. If the commission agrees to proceed, it would determine at a later date whether Citro’s name should be removed.
Citro, a performer associated with Las Vegas’ Italian American Club, has said removal from the list would allow him to perform bebop music, Italian folk songs, jokes, and stories related to Las Vegas’ mob history in casino lounge settings. He recently performed at a private New Year’s Eve event in Arizona.
The petition seeking reconsideration was filed in November by Citro’s attorney, Michael Lasher. In a 10-page submission to the commission, Lasher outlined the reasons for requesting a hearing and removal from the list.
“Good cause exists to grant petitioner a hearing and to remove him from the List of Excluded Persons,” Lasher’s petition says. “Petitioner was placed on the list because of four felony convictions and his allegedly unsavory character gleaned from media accounts and government crime reports. 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. And the media has taken note.”
Under Regulation 28, which governs the operation of the exclusion list, individuals who are banned “may petition the commission in writing and request that his or her name be removed from such list.” Citro is currently one of 37 people included on the list.
Lasher’s filing also describes Citro’s involvement in charitable activities. “Petitioner has done extensive fundraising for various local charities. As just a few examples, he hosted a Christmas Dance Party to benefit the kids at Child Haven, for which he received letters of appreciation. He also assisted in another charity drive, which collected 3,000 socks for homeless people,” the petition says.
Citro has said he plans to attend the commission meeting. Commissioners may either agree to consider the matter through a hearing at a later date or deny the request.
While reviewing Citro’s petition, regulators are also managing recent nominations to the exclusion list. At its December meeting, the Nevada Gaming Control Board nominated Wayne Nix, a former minor league baseball player who pleaded guilty in April 2022 in federal court to conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and to filing a false tax return. Nix’s sentencing has been postponed several times and is now scheduled for March.
In January, the board nominated Mathew Bowyer, an illegal bookmaker who pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal charges of operating an illegal gambling business, money laundering, and filing a false tax return. Bowyer accepted sports bets from an estimated 700 gamblers, including Ippei Mizuhara, the former translator and de facto manager of Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani.
Mizuhara was sentenced in February to four years in prison for stealing an estimated $17 million from Ohtani. Bowyer was sentenced Aug. 29 to 12 months and one day in prison.
The commission has not announced when it will take up the nominations of Nix and Bowyer, nor whether it will schedule a hearing on Citro’s petition if commissioners agree to consider the request.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/01/28/117322-veteran-las-vegas-performer-frank-citro-seeks-removal-from-casino-ban-list-after-decades
