Tuesday, July 13, 2004 | 11:07 a.m.
ATLANTIC CITY -- Banned from working in New Jersey casinos for lying about his gambling habit, a former casino executive wants back in the game.
Gary DiBartolomeo, 49, of Margate, lost his $362,000-a-year job as president of Caesars Atlantic City Hotel Casino and was banned from the business here for five years in 2001.
DiBartolomeo, who once referred to himself as "the David Copperfield of deception," unsuccessfully sought early reapplication for a casino license last year and is now trying again.
Despite character references from compulsive gambling experts, rival casino operators and others, however, the state Division of Gaming Enforcement contends DiBartolomeo's failure to come clean about his lies makes him unsuitable to hold a casino license.
DiBartolomeo "remains arrogant, manipulative and unrepentant, and continues to demonstrate contempt both for the casino regulators and the casino regulatory process," said Deputy Attorney General Gary Ehrlich, representing the Division of Gaming.
Ehrlich told the state Casino Control Commission last week that letting DiBartolomeo return now would undermine public confidence in New Jersey casinos.
His lawyer disagreed.
"Here's a guy who has turned his life around 180 (degrees) and is about as safe a risk, after all he's been through, as anyone who is licensed or looking to get licensed," said attorney Lloyd D. Levenson.
"What would they like him to do? Obviously, he accepts responsibility. He's totally remorseful. It's been over four years since he worked at a casino. He's lived an exemplary life, done everything that someone who is sincere about getting back in the industry would do.
"My God, I don't know what they want of him," Levenson said.
DiBartolomeo, who rose from craps dealer to casino president, made his name as a player development executive who wooed high rollers while working at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and Caesars.
But he got hooked on gambling in the process and became a high roller himself, betting thousands of dollars per hand in Las Vegas casinos and elsewhere.
New Jersey regulators found out about his betting and ordered him to quit gambling as a condition of his license renewal in 1995. But he violated the restriction and lied to state investigators to cover it up, prompting them to impose the five-year ban.
That was in 2001. He sought permission to reapply early last year and was rejected.
In letters submitted on his behalf, Caesars Entertainment Inc. CEO Wallace Barr, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts President Mark Brown, compulsive gambling counselor Harvey Fogel and a Little League official -- DiBartolomeo is a coach -- all vouched for him.
"He has sought help," wrote Barr. "He has been through counseling. He remains thoroughly committed to his recovery. He has demonstrated to me, through his words and deeds, that he is ready to resume a position of responsibility in the casino resort industry."
Brown said he would offer DiBartolomeo a job if he gets relicensed, and Fogel noted that DiBartolomeo had established a Gamblers Anonymous chapter in Margate and inspired "countless amounts of casino employees" with similar problems to come forward.
But Ehrlich, in a letter to Commission Chairwoman Linda Kassekert, said DiBartolomeo has never accepted the responsibility for his missteps, instead blaming them on compulsive gambling.
Also, DiBartolomeo failed to tell the Division of Gaming Enforcement that he had applied for -- and been denied -- a license to sell real estate in New Jersey earlier this year, Ehrlich said.
On Jan. 6, the state Real Estate Commission said he did not have the "good moral character, honesty, integrity and trustworthiness" required to hold a license.
That shouldn't be held against DiBartolomeo since the Division of Gaming and the state Casino Control Commission both knew of the application beforehand, according to Levenson.
Last week, Levenson's arguments prevailed as the Casino Control Commission unanimously approved DiBartolomeo's request to reapply for a casino license before the five-year ban expires.
The Courier-Post newspaper reported the approval in no way guarantees DiBartolomeo's request to return to the industry. The commission insisted he go through a full hearing to allow investigators and regulators an opportunity to scrutinize the past 3 1/2 years of his life, the newspaper reported.
The Las Vegas Sun
contributed to this story.
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