Iowa Slots Winner Denied Jackpot As Casino Fined $20k

A casino and one of its customers were left out of pocket after the under aged gambler won a  $3,601 slot jackpot at the Argosy Sioux City, last year.
In Iowa, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to enter a casino, but that didn’t stop the unnamed man and an adult companion from making their way past the entrance turnstile into the Argosy casino at 11 p.m. on October 8th, 2011.
The young man then proceeded to win the $3,601 slot jackpot, but he could have done with just a little less luck as any jackpot won over $1,200 requires identification before payment is made. Consequently, after the slot attendant ascertained the punter’s age, security were notified who then duly contacted the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, before subsequently being escorted from the premises.
Now, the floating casino has agreed to pay a $20,000 fine to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, with an extract from the case document confirming:
“Over the next two hours, the minor walked through the gaming floor and played numerous slot machines. Surveillance coverage showed he had direct contact with many facility employees, however was not asked for identification.”
The problem of under age gambling is often a problem for casinos and stories like this are not that uncommon. One interesting case occurred in 2007, when The Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, Iowa was fined $20,000 for letting 19 year-old Tuyet Nhung C. Nguyen gamble. The casino, subsequently tried to sue the teenager for the money, claiming it was a “direct result of the defendant’s fraudulent acts.”
Another bizarre case occurred in 2007 at The Sands Casino in Macau, when a 16 year-old girl from Hong Kong won a $100,000 slot jackpot after being given $12 to play by her grandmother. In that case, however, the girl’s mother was allowed to keep the winnings, after the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau ruled that ‘there is a minimum age for entering a casino but not a minimum age for gambling in one.’ That particular loophole has since been closed.