Panel rejects Ted Binion's request to return to casino

      The state Gaming Control Board Thursday unanimously rejected Horseshoe executive Lonnie "Ted" Binion's bid to return to work after a tense hearing that probed his admitted ties to a reputed organized crime figure.
      "I don't know where else to go. Every time we roll over a rock we get some notorious creature rolling out from under it," control board member Steve DuCharme told Binion.
      After the often tense, two-hour hearing, the control board rejected Binion's request to have a pair of gaming licenses reinstated, which would allow him to return to work at the downtown hotel and casino. Binion's request now goes to the State Gaming Commission, which will meet next on May 22. The gaming commission will have the final say but does not have to accept the control board's decision.
      Gaming regulators disciplined Binion in July 1987 for abusing illegal narcotics and forced him out of the casino industry until January 1993.
      In September 1994, his shareholder and key employee licenses were again suspended for abusing illegal narcotics. He was fined $250,000 and forbidden from serving as an officer and executive of the family owned Binion's Horseshoe.
      The suspension was upheld in April 1996, after Binion violated the terms of an agreement with gaming regulators when he tested positive for cocaine and marijuana use. Regulators also concluded that Binion had violated the 1994 deal by receiving "comps" from the casino and regularly using Horseshoe limousines.
      On Thursday, Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible complimented Binion for passing 160 state-mandated drug tests during the past year. "I applaud him for that," Bible said.
      But control board members focused much of their attention on Binion's ties to Kansas City, Mo., reputed mob associate Peter "P.J." Ribaste.
      Binion acknowledged making a $100,000 loan to Ribaste last fall to operate Carriage Car III, a used car dealership at 3401 S. Decatur Blvd., sources said.
      Ribaste served time in a federal prison for mail fraud for filing a fraudulent loan application in 1987 to purchase a Chevrolet dealership in the Kansas City area. The application failed to list more than $90,000 in debts Ribaste owed to Las Vegas casinos, according to federal court documents.
      Ribaste was described in a 1989 FBI report as having frequent contact with people believed to be high-ranking members of the Kansas City underworld, including the late Carl "Cork" Civella, a reputed leader of the Kansas City mob.
      Binion told gaming regulators Thursday that until three months ago he was unaware of Ribaste's background.
      "Oh, I just thought he was a pretty good fellow," Binion said.
      Control board investigators discovered the relationship while examining phone records in connection with a move to add Ribaste's name to the Black Book of people forbidden from entering Nevada's casinos.
      Ribaste did not attend Thursday's hearing.
      Binion's possible ties to organized crime figures were the target of regulatory concern in May 1996 when he admitted to gaming regulators that he had met with mobster Herbie Blitzstein on at least 25 occasions -- nine at Binion's house.
      Blitzstein, who was shot to death in January at his Las Vegas home, was a longtime associate of the mobster Tony Spilotro and was listed in the Black Book. Spilotro was the Chicago mob's man in Las Vegas from 1971 until his slaying in 1986.
      "There's an associational concern," Bible said. "The statutes don't contemplate a licensee having associations that bring disrepute to the state of Nevada."
      A casino operator's gaming licenses could be suspended for having such relationships, according to state law.
      Binion told control board members Thursday that he was introduced to Ribaste by a Las Vegas real estate agent who described the Spanish Trail resident as a man in search of friends.
      "She thought he was substantial, and she thought he was a nice guy," Binion said. "She mentioned the people in his neighborhood were haughty."
      The two grew close, with Ribaste giving Binion gifts, including a case of scotch. By the end of 1996, Binion had agreed to loan Ribaste the $100,000, although no loan documents were signed by the men.
      Binion said Ribaste promised him payments of $2,350-a-month for "60-plus" months. If the business failed and Ribaste was unable to repay the loan, Binion said he was promised the equity in Ribaste's home.
      "I think I hope I'm going to get paid," Binion said.
      Earlier in the hearing, board members questioned Binion to determine if he were involved in any of the Horseshoe's business operations in violation of the 1994 regulatory ban.
      Dressed in a gray suit, white shirt and tie, Binion fidgeted nervously during much of the hearing's first hour, as his lawyers answered most of the questions posed by the three control board members.
      "I think we've demonstrated he was not (involved) in the operation and management of the Horseshoe," Binion lawyer Mark Ferrario said. "(He has) amply demonstrated that he has not ingested or used a controlled substance in the past year."
      Board members discussed a Montana court document filed by Binion's sister, Brenda Michael, charging that her brother threatened to reduce the Horseshoe salary of Micheal's daughter.
      "He used extremely abusive language toward her," Michael said in the court document. "He left a message on her answering machine calling her many abusive things."
      Control board members said the threats implied that Ted Binion was involved in the Horseshoe's operation.
      "Don't you have to be in a management position ... to influence salary positions of the Horseshoe?" DuCharme asked.
      Ferrario denied Binion was in such a position, saying his client was simply discussing what he'd do if he were running the business.