Since the Gaming Control Board was formed in Las Vegas in 1955 to screen prospective casino licenses for organized crime involvement, mobsters have managed to develop invisible but profitable connections to casinos. Seemingly legitimate casino buyers sometimes serve as fronts for mobs. Obfuscation is so basic to the Las Vegas area that it is difficult to determine who the casinos, and in most instances the ownership of the various phases of the industry is deliberately fractionalized so that people who hold points in a hotel do not necessarily hold points in the casino. Furthermore, mob involvement is probable in both large and small casinos. Mobsters with invisible connections usually receive a percentage of the 'skim,' the gambling revenues that are not reported on official asset sheets. A casino gambling report prepared for New york City's mayor found that skimming is extremely difficult to control and probably impossible to prevent entirely; therefore, casino operations present permanent attractions to organized crime. A successful skimming method recommended by a mobster over an FBI-wiretapped phone called for gaining control of someone in the casino's controller's office who has access to the cash boxes containing daily cash revenues and who can make it appear that the skimmed money had simply gone back into financing the casino's normal operations. In authorizing its new casino industry in 1977, New Jersey recognized the risk but hoped to avoid Nevada's problems, although the prospects are discouraging. A number of officials have become involved in illegal practices, and three of the four casinos opened thus far have not been granted permanent licenses because of possible mob connections. If casinos are legalized in other States as expected, organized crime will probably receive hundreds of millions more in profits. Background histories and photographs are included. A reference list is not provided.