Regulators eye another entry for Nevada Black Book

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- An alleged accomplice of the most recent inductee onto the state's List of Excluded Persons was nominated Thursday to become the 37th entry to the document commonly referred to as the Black Book.

The Gaming Control Board said Michael McNeive, who has a conviction for trying to cheat a Nevada slot machine, should not be allowed to enter a state casino.

The Nevada Gaming Commission will need to confirm McNeive's nomination at a later date.

McNeive has a long criminal record that includes felony convictions in Nevada and Florida. In 2001, McNeive pleaded guilty to possessing a cheating device at Harrah's Laughlin. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to trying to cheat a slot machine at a Rite Aid drugstore in Las Vegas.

McNeive spent time in prison for cocaine trafficking in Florida in the 1980s.

McNeive is alleged to be an accomplice of William Cushing, a convicted slot cheat who was put into the Black Book last year by Nevada gaming regulators. He and Cushing are named as co-defendants in a pending slot cheating case in Clark County.

"Do we have a lot of slot cheats out there? Yes," said control board member Randy Sayre. "Do they rise to this level of sophistication? No. But these two (Cushing and McNeive) clearly are very good and very creative in what they do."

Sayre said including McNeive in the Black Book sends a message to casino operators and puts potential slot cheaters on notice.

Colorado gaming authorities have excluded McNeive from entering gaming establishments in that state.

Cushing was the list's first new member since 2004. The Black Book was created to help combat organized crime, which controlled Nevada casinos in the 1960s and 1970s. The only way a person can be removed from the list is by dying.

The law was set up to prohibit people with felony convictions against the gaming industry from entering a casino. It's considered a gross misdemeanor if someone from the List of Excluded Persons enters a gaming establishment. Casino executives can also face disciplinary action from Nevada gaming regulators if they knowingly allow a member of the Black Book to enter the property.