A 'black book' lists 34 people banned from Illinois casinos. It's rarely updated and likely missing names.
<p>After Chicago area bookie Vincent DelGiudice pleaded guilty in 2021 to running a sprawling illegal sports betting operation, the Orland Park resident was sentenced the following year to 18 months in prison.</p><p>He and his initial co-defendants, including Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher, later faced another penalty: They were banned by the Illinois Gaming Board, an arm of state government reporting to Gov. JB Pritzker, from ever stepping foot in an Illinois casino.</p><p>But the public could be forgiven if they didn’t know.</p><p>Even though the gaming board went through the process in late 2023 of permanently barring DelGiudice, along with nine others who were part of his case and two men who weren’t part of it, the agency did so with little or no fanfare, then left their names off its publicly available online “involuntary exclusion” list that identifies others similarly banned from Illinois casinos.</p><p>The gaming board’s administrator, Marcus Fruchter, won’t explain the omissions, declining to say whether they were purposeful or accidental.</p><p>An agency spokeswoman said in June, when the Chicago Sun-Times learned of them, that we “are not required by rule or law to display the names on the website” but are nonetheless “in the process of making updates to the website.”</p><p>That happened this past week, after the Sun-Times asked about the status of updates since it'd been two months.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>After Chicago area bookie Vincent DelGiudice pleaded guilty in 2021 to running a sprawling illegal sports betting operation, the Orland Park resident was sentenced the following year to 18 months in prison.</p><p>He and his initial co-defendants, including Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher, later faced another penalty: They were banned by the Illinois Gaming Board, an arm of state government reporting to Gov. JB Pritzker, from ever stepping foot in an Illinois casino.</p><p>But the public could be forgiven if they didn’t know.</p><p>Even though the gaming board went through the process in late 2023 of permanently barring DelGiudice, along with nine others who were part of his case and two men who weren’t part of it, the agency did so with little or no fanfare, then left their names off its publicly available online “involuntary exclusion” list that identifies others similarly banned from Illinois casinos.</p><p>The gaming board’s administrator, Marcus Fruchter, won’t explain the omissions, declining to say whether they were purposeful or accidental.</p><p>An agency spokeswoman said in June, when the Chicago Sun-Times learned of them, that we “are not required by rule or law to display the names on the website” but are nonetheless “in the process of making updates to the website.”</p><p>That happened this past week, after the Sun-Times asked about the status of updates since it'd been two months. There are now 34 names displayed on the public list.</p><p>Beyond the latest additions, the 22 other exclusions spanned from 1993 to 2016.</p><p>Some of them were accused of being part of illegal gambling schemes — at times involving the mob, which has long claimed dominion over illicit gambling in Chicago and beyond, and has tried to make inroads into legal gambling.</p><p>Others were accused of cheating, stealing or creating havoc at casinos in Illinois or out of state. Two were accused of helping underage patrons visit casinos.</p><p>Created in the early 1990s as the state’s first casinos opened, the list has long served as a hall of shame of sorts that, among other things, is intended to serve as a deterrent for bad actors and a means for casinos to know who to keep out.</p><p>Among those already on the online public list:<br></p><ul class="rte2-style-ul" id="rte-cf1dd4f2-972c-11f1-9ed3-437d5c997f26"><li>Robert Cechini, a one-time Bloomingdale resident convicted in an illegal video gambling case brought by authorities before video gambling was legalized in Illinois.
Read the full report at Chicago Sun-Times ↗
Why it matters
A world story we're tracking; its significance and source trust firm up as more outlets confirm it.
- What's the story?
- <p>After Chicago area bookie Vincent DelGiudice pleaded guilty in 2021 to running a sprawling illegal sports betting operation, the Orland Park resident was sentenced the following year to 18 months in prison.</p><p>He and his initial co-defendants, including Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher, later faced another penalty: They were banned by the Illinois Gaming Board, an arm of state government reporting to Gov. JB Pritzker, from ever stepping foot in an Illinois casino.</p><p>But the public could be forgiven if they didn’t know.</p><p>Even though the gaming board went through the process in late 2023 of permanently barring DelGiudice, along with nine others who were part of his case and two men who weren’t part of it, the agency did so with little or no fanfare, then left their names off its publicly available online “involuntary exclusion” list that identifies others similarly banned from Illinois casinos.</p><p>The gaming board’s administrator, Marcus Fruchter, won’t explain the omissions, declining to say whether they were purposeful or accidental.</p><p>An agency spokeswoman said in June, when the Chicago Sun-Times learned of them, that we “are not required by rule or law to display the names on the website” but are nonetheless “in the process of making updates to the website.”</p><p>That happened this past week, after the Sun-Times asked about the status of updates since it'd been two months.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 7m ago.
How outlets are framing the same story
Here's how each outlet is covering the story — compare their headlines and timing at a glance.
- Coverage card1 outlet1CoverageScouting report
A 'black book' lists 34 people banned from Illinois casinos. It's rarely updated and likely missing names.
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times