Virginia City gaming bid rejected
Californian kept on denied applicants list
The historic Nevada mining town of Virginia City will continue to be without gaming in the immediate future after the state Gaming Control Board last week voted unanimously to refer a licensing request back to its staff for further review.
Brentwood, California, resident Vincent Malfitano failed to convince regulator son wednesday to remove him from the so-called gray list of denied gaming license applicants, sidelining his efforts to bring more than 100 slot machines back to the Delta Saloon and the Bonanza Saloon on Virginia City’s main drag.
Malfitano, a former dentist in Antioch, California, and owner of an assisted living center, also is the sole shareholder of Virginia City Gaming LLC and was hoping to return 138 slot machines to the two saloons, but first he had to make a request to be removed from the state’s denied applicant list.
Malfitano was placed on that list in 2015 after Control Board investigators determined that he had omitted listing on his gaming application a citation he had received for obstruction of a police officer as well as lawsuits and tax liens that had been filed against him.
The Control Board maintains a list of individuals or businesses that have been denied a license, had a license revoked or have been found unsuitable to hold a license. There are 141 people or businesses on that list, and existing gaming licensees are prohibited from conducting business with them.
Denied applicants must wait at least five years before they can ask to be removed from the list. Malfitano was hoping to be removed so that he could at least lease the casino
floors in his two properties to another vendor while he awaited possible licensing himself.
With the board’s move referring the matter back to staff, the original licensing denial remains in place and Malfitano will be required to reapply for licensing consideration, a process that usually takes months to complete.
Control Board member Terry Johnson used baseball metaphors to describe to Malfitano what he was up against.
“Mr. Malfitano, this is your second at-bat ,” johnson said toward the end of nearly two hours of testimony. “If you strike out on that third time at the plate, I think it’s game over.
“You’ ve been given more than ample opportunity to make a showing of your suitability and you have a robust record that you can go back and rely upon to see where the deficiencies were in the application, your participation in the application process and the investigation,” he said. “That third at-bat, you just really can’t do anything less than hit it out of the park. You can’t afford anything less. That third at-bat is your final opportunity.”
Earlier in the meeting, the board received several letters from supporters of Malfitano, asking board
members to let him have a chance at returning gaming to the town where the com stock lo de of silver was discovered in 1859.
Malfitano said the Delta Saloon was first built in 1863. The Bonanza Saloon, across the street from the Delta, was named for the television series“bonanza” that was popular in the 1960s and early 1970s. Malfitano said he has purchased memorabilia from th et vs how to display at the casino.
He also said he pursued a license with the Nevada Transportation Authority to establish a bus service to bring tourists to Virginia City.
The Delta Saloon was nearly destroyed by a gas explosion on the morning of March 12,2019. Mal fit a not old the board the explosion was caused by a contractor overfilling a propane tank. Two kitchens that serviced both the Delta and the Bonanza properties were destroyed in the explosion but have been rebuilt. A lawsuit was filed in November 2019 against Amerigas, the contractor that filled the tank.