Two unions are calling for a public boycott of Rampart Casino in Las Vegas after disputes over its licence.
The Culinary Union and Unite Here have asked the Nevada Gaming Commission to comment on the validity of the licence at the property.
This is because the gaming licence is listed under Shirazalli Jafferali Lalji, who died 28 March 2020.
This licence only very recently expired in March of this year.
The Culinary Union has specifically requested answers regarding: “Why a deceased Mr. Lalji was listed as having a gaming licence for almost four years after his death, and why is a deceased Mr. Lalji still (as of March 27), reported on the Nevada Gaming Control Board location details report as active within the Rampart Casino ownership structure.”
When Laliji passed in 2020, according to his will, he appointed his brother Aminmohamed Jafferali Lalji as executor and trustee.
This brother is currently the President of Richmond Inn Investments, which owns the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel in Vancouver, Canada.
On 21 March 2024, the Culinary Union questioned the Nevada Gaming Commission about the discrepancies and the Commission changed the late Lalji’s status from ‘Beneficiary and Director’ to ‘Removed’, although he was still listed as ‘Active’ within the company.
Ted Pappageorge, Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer, said: “For decades the Culinary Union has fought and won higher standards in the Las Vegas hospitality industry.
“From the Las Vegas Strip to Downtown to the locals market and our International Union of guest room attendants; cocktail servers, restaurant workers, bartenders, laundry and food service workers have a long history of protecting and advancing these standards through organising, bargaining, strikes, and boycotts.
“We are concerned that a Lalji family business is engaged in a labour dispute in Vancouver totally at odds with these standards, and we fully support the strikers of Unite Here.”
Very recently, Gambling Insider spoke with Ted Pappageorge about the possibility of a full strike in Las Vegas.
