The Nevada Gaming Commission has banned Kendrick Laronte Weatherspoon, a Las Vegas man, from entering a Nevada casino due to a “history of assaulting women and forcing women into prostitution at Strip resorts.” The commission placed Weatherspoon on its List of Excluded Persons by a unanimous vote at the conclusion of a 90-minute hearing.
Weatherspoon is the 36th individual to be added to this list. The commission decides who is placed on the list based on two criteria. Those added must have a “notorious or unsavory reputation that would adversely affect public confidence and trust” and a felony conviction in the state of Nevada.
According to Deputy Attorney General Michael Somps, Weatherspoon satisfied both requirements. He is the first person to get on the list for reasons other than cheating at gambling or involvement in organized crime.
Weatherspoon has been charged more than once with sex trafficking of an adult since 2019 and has also faced charges of drug possession, battery by strangulation, sex assault, kidnapping and burglary.
During the hearing, debate arose among commission members about singling out Weatherspoon because of “hundreds of other criminals with lengthy rap sheets and a history of violence.” The commission reached the decision to “make an example” of Weatherspoon because he conducted these activities using Las Vegas casinos as a “basis of operations for prostitution.”
Commissioner Steven Cohen expressed his concerns and said it is time to take action against human trafficking.
He commented: “This is a horrible, horrible record. It’s a horrible blight for the state of Nevada and something has to be done. We need help from the courts, Metro and the resorts.”
