{"id":304432,"date":"2023-12-21T17:13:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T23:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=304432"},"modified":"2023-12-26T11:42:14","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T17:42:14","slug":"nevada-adds-mississippi-illusionist-to-black-book-of-banned-casino-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-adds-mississippi-illusionist-to-black-book-of-banned-casino-players\/","title":{"rendered":"Nevada Adds Mississippi Illusionist to Black Book of Banned Casino Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously voted on Thursday to add the 36th name to its List of Excluded Persons. That\u2019s the infamous \u201cblack book\u201d banning people for life from all casinos in the Silver State.<\/p>\n

\"Shaun
Shaun Benward has performed magic in Mississippi under the pseudonym Shaun Mistery. The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday assured that he will vanish from all casinos in the Silver State. (Image: Instagram\/mistery228228)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shaun Joseph Benward, a 36-year-old native of Ocean Springs, Miss., is an illusionist who allegedly uses his knowledge of distraction to scam casinos. He was nominated for the dishonor in September.<\/p>\n

Benward was previously convicted of cheating at roulette in several states and has been removed from 17 Nevada casinos. Though he was notified of the vote, he didn’t attend Thursday\u2019s Commission meeting.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Benward poses with the famous Julius Caesar statue inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, one of many photo ops that will no longer be available to him. (Image: Instagram\/mistery228228)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Michael Somps, Senior Deputy Attorney General in the Gaming Division of the Nevada Attorney General\u2019s Office, testified before the Commission in September that Benward has cheated casinos out of tens of thousands of dollars by perpetrating a single scam — an allegation backed up by multiple news reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Benward\u2019s MO is to work with an accomplice to distract roulette dealers. He wins their confidence through conversation, then places his bet late in a game.<\/p>\n

When the ball lands, Benward tries convincing his dealer that he mistakenly placed his chips on the wrong number. His accomplice backs up the story.<\/p>\n

Often, a flustered dealer will allow the bet to be played. Often, however, Benward is caught.<\/p>\n

This is why his name appears on exclusion lists in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Missouri, and Michigan, and why he has cheating arrests or convictions in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, and Rhode Island.<\/p>\n

\n

Black book inclusion requires only one conviction of violating laws governing gaming or moral turpitude, or of violating a court order to stay out of casinos, or of having a notorious or unsavory reputation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Benward satisfied all four criteria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously voted on Thursday to add the 36th name to its List of Excluded Persons. That\u2019s the infamous \u201cblack book\u201d banning people for life from all casinos in the Silver State. Shaun Joseph Benward, a 36-year-old native of Ocean Springs, Miss., is an illusionist who allegedly uses his knowledge of distraction […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":304433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,21,81886,84511],"tags":[82517,83067,87873,82100,83916,89262,89263],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNevada Adds Mississippi Illusionist to Black Book of Banned Casino Players - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously voted on Thursday to add the 36th name to its List of Excluded Persons. 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That\u2019s the infamous \u201cblack book\u201d banning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-adds-mississippi-illusionist-to-black-book-of-banned-casino-players\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-21T23:13:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-26T17:42:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/benward.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1110\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"802\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Corey Levitan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Corey Levitan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-adds-mississippi-illusionist-to-black-book-of-banned-casino-players\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-adds-mississippi-illusionist-to-black-book-of-banned-casino-players\/\",\"name\":\"Nevada Adds Mississippi Illusionist to Black Book of Banned Casino Players - Casino.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-adds-mississippi-illusionist-to-black-book-of-banned-casino-players\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-adds-mississippi-illusionist-to-black-book-of-banned-casino-players\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/benward.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-21T23:13:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-26T17:42:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/281fd7b5480c9afb75e84ffb75039f09\"},\"description\":\"The Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously voted on Thursday to add the 36th name to its List of Excluded Persons. 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