Three Pennsylvania Casinos Receive Hefty Fines

Three Pennsylvania Casinos Receive Hefty FinesThree of Pennsylvania’s casinos have been handed a collective $77,500 in fines by the state’s Gaming Control Board (PGCB) for a number of policy breaches ranging from procedural violations to underage gambling. The casinos involved include Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, the Mohegan Sun casino at Pocono Downs, and SugarHouse in Philadelphia, with the fines having been levied following a meeting which took place between the three gambling venues and the Gaming Control Board’s Office of Enforcement.
In the first case, Holdings Acquisition Company, L.P., which operates the Rivers Casino, was fined a total of $42,500, with $20,000 of that amount levied for not receiving Board approval before hosting five separate poker tournaments. The remaining $22,500 related to self-exclusion violations, and as the PGCB subsequently pointed out:
“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.”
Next, Downs Racing L.P, which runs the Mohegan Sun casino, was fined $25,000 for a breach which occurred last year after incorrect card decks were used at its poker room, and were not subsequently reported to the Board.
And finally, SugarHouse HSP Gaming, L.P., which operates SugarHouse, was handed a $10,000 fine for failing to prevent underage gambling on its gaming floor. The latest incident involves a 19 year-old man who gained access to one of the casino’s slot machines, but the casino has been penalized in the recent past for similar violations. In January, for instance, SugarHouse was fined $100k connected to five individual cases involving patrons aged under 21.
In other related news, Pennsylvania’s efforts to agree a budgetary deal this week fell apart on Wednesday, mostly due to a disagreement related to a proposed hotel tax, which ultimately was shot down by House Republicans. Interestingly, both chambers seem to accept the need for expanding the state’s gambling industry, and also agree that it could generate around $200 million per annum for the Keystone State. Nevertheless, unless a compromise deal is found on other more controversial budgetary areas, then a gambling expansion is likely to have to stay on hold for the foreseeable future.


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