Longtime Las Vegas gaming worker could be banned from industry for 5 years

Matthew Galanti had applied to become a general manager for Nevada Restaurant Services Inc., the parent company of the Dotty’s casino chain.

Galanti had worked for Dotty’s for several years, but was fired the day after he appeared for a January licensing hearing before Nevada Gaming Control Board hearing officers.

Galanti was terminated for falsifying employee time clock and mileage records, board agents said.

The Gaming Control Board, in a rare split vote, recommended denying licensure for Galanti following an hour-long hearing at which he represented himself.

Board Chairman Kirk Hendrick cast the lone vote against denying licensure on April 9, only because he said he wanted agents to conclude their investigation of Galanti, which stopped after he was fired. He said he agreed that testimony presented to the board supported denial.

If the commission votes to accept the board’s recommendation, Galanti’s name would go on the so-called “gray list” of denied applicants and he would not be able to work with or for any licensed operator.

Hendrick explained the consequences of a denial to Galanti, who said because he and his wife are without jobs that he could not afford a gaming industry attorney to guide him.

In his testimony to the board, Galanti said he clocked in at a Nevada Restaurant Services location, then met with a Control Board hearing officer Jan. 7. He was terminated the next day for failing to explain where he had been after clocking in.

Board members questioned inconsistencies between what he told hearing officers in his meeting with them and his testimony before the board about other jobs he has held in Southern Nevada.

Galanti said while employed at Aria, he did not return from a Family and Medical Leave Act absence because a supervisor accused him of abusing FMLA provisions.

In his January hearing, he also said he resigned from a position he had with Red Rock Resorts, but failed to disclose that he received a severance check when he left. Board members said it was Galanti’s responsibility to explain all circumstances of his hirings and departures, but he didn’t.

The board agent’s report said Galanti twice filed for bankruptcy protection during his career.

Hendrick urged Galanti to get legal help before the commission meets.

“I would encourage you strongly to consult with a gaming attorney or attorney with knowledge of the gaming laws and regulations in the state of Nevada,” Hendrick said. “The commission meets in a couple of weeks and as you heard from the deputy attorney general, there are ramifications if the commission does not overturn the vote of the board today. They can have long-lasting ramifications for your ability to work in the gaming industry.”

Galanti said he received advice on his gaming application from a man who currently is a Nevada prison inmate.

There currently are the names of 145 individuals and companies on the Nevada Gaming Commission’s listing of denials, revocations and findings of unsuitability posted on the Control Board website. The most current list shows entries posted between January 1980 and August 2021.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.