PA Gaming Control Board Levies Fines Against Three Casinos Totaling $77,500

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved fines totaling $77,500 against three casinos for various violations.

The fines were the result of Board approvals at its public meeting of consent agreements between the PGCB's Office of Enforcement Counsel and:

• Holdings Acquisition Company, L.P., operator of the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, which was fined a total of $42,500 for two violations:
• $22,500 for a violation of the procedures for handling a self-excluded individual; and,
• $20,000 for holding several poker tournaments without prior approval by the Board;
• Downs Racing, L.P., operator of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Lackawanna County, which was fined $25,000 for procedural violations that occurred in the Poker Room; and,
• SugarHouse HSP Gaming L.P., operator of the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, a $10,000 fine for failing to prevent underage access to the gaming floor.

DETAILS

The $22,500 fine against Holdings Acquisition Company, L.P. was the result of casino personnel allowing three individuals who are on the PGCB's Self-Excluded Persons List to gamble:

• A female who had placed herself on the 1-year Self-Exclusion List was provided a Player's Card and played table games;
• A male who had placed himself on the 5-year Self-Exclusion List was provided cash advances and played table games; and,
• A male who had placed himself on the 1-year Self-Exclusion List was provided a Player's Card and played table games.

Gaming facilities in the Commonwealth must refuse wagers from, and deny gaming privileges such as player's cards and cash advances to individuals who are on the Self-Exclusion List.  Individuals who place themselves on the Self-Exclusion List can choose 1-year, 5-year, or lifetime options but must in all cases make a request to the Board to be removed from the list even if that agreed upon time period has expired.

The Board also fined Holdings Acquisition Company, L.P. $20,000 for holding five poker tournaments prior to its submission to and approval by the PGCB of its 2017 Poker Schedule. Regulations mandate that a casino which elects to conduct a poker tournament must submit for approval by the PGCB's Executive Director a proposed schedule of tournaments to be conducted.

The fine against Downs Racing, L.P. was for its failure to report to the PGCB a 2016 incident in which compromised decks with incorrect cards were utilized during the play of poker and the failure of casino personnel to properly notify the Board of the incident.

Finally, the fine against SugarHouse HSP Gaming L.P. stemmed from casino personnel permitting a 19-year-old male access to the gaming floor of SugarHouse Casino in which he gambled at a slot machine.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, November 8, 2017 in the PGCB's Public Hearing Room located on the second floor of Strawberry Square in Harrisburg. 

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board:

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state's casino industry. There are 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos in operation, along with the two smaller resort casinos. These facilities collectively employ 18,000 people and annually generate approximately $1.4 billion in tax revenue from slot machine and table games play. The largest portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to all Pennsylvania homeowners.

Additional information about both the PGCB's regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania's casino gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.

CONTACTS:
Doug Harbach or Richard McGarvey
(717) 346-8321

SOURCE Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board