Philadelphia Casino Fined $15,000 By Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

HARRISBURG, PA: HSP Gaming, LP, operator of the SugarHouse Casino, agreed to fines totaling $15,000 for three incidents in which patrons gambled at the Philadelphia facility even though they were banned from entering and gambling in Commonwealth casinos.

The fines were the result of approvals today by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board of consent agreements between the PGCB’s Office of Enforcement Counsel and the casino license holder.

In one incident, an individual who placed themself on the PGCB’s Self-Exclusion list participated in table game gambling over a four day period from June 29 to July 3, 2012. The PGCB’s Self-Exclusion Program permits problem gamblers to ban themselves from gambling at Pennsylvania casinos. While a person is on the Self-Exclusion List, gaming facilities in the Commonwealth must refuse wagers from and deny any gaming privileges to that person. The Self-Excluded individual also agrees that they could be charged with criminal trespass if they enter a Pennsylvania casino.

It was the second time during 2012 in which this individual violated the Self-Exclusion ban. In both instances, this same individual was charged with defiant trespass by the Pennsylvania State Police, and had all winnings confiscated.

Another incident occurred in August 2012 when another person on the PGCB’s Self-Exclusion List played slot machines and gambled at table games at the SugarHouse Casino. He was also charged with defiant trespass by the Pennsylvania State Police, and had all winnings confiscated.

HSP Gaming agreed to pay a $10,000 fine for permitting these Self-Exclusion List violations.

A third incident occurred in May 2012 in which an individual that had been placed on the PGCB’s Exclusion List, Arthur K. Garner, was permitted to enter SugarHouse Casino and gamble on two separate occasions. The Exclusion List consists of career or professional offenders, cheats and other individuals whose presence in a licensed facility would be inimical to the interest of the Commonwealth, of licensed gaming, or both. Upon placement on the Exclusion List by the Board, any person on the list are to be excluded or ejected from licensed facilities in Pennsylvania.

In this case, Mr. Garner had been placed on the Exclusion List by the Board in 2011 for his alleged involvement in the robbery of gaming chips from another Pennsylvania casino. After being identified as an Excluded Patron, Mr. Garner was charged with defiant trespass by the Pennsylvania State Police.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, January 9, 2013 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 was established in 2004 with the passage of Act 71, also known as the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. Pennsylvania’s first new state agency in nearly 30 years, the Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state’s casino industry. The 11 casinos in operation all offer both slot machine and table game gambling, employ over 16,000 people, and collectively generate an average of $4 million per day in tax revenue. A portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to all Pennsylvania homeowners; provide funds to the Commonwealth’s horse racing industry, fire companies, a statewide water and sewer project grant program, and the state’s General Fund; and, established a new stream of tax revenue to local governments that host casinos for community projects.

A wealth of information about the Gaming Control Board’s regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. At this website, visitors can watch Board meetings live or view videos of past meetings, look up future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, obtain information on identifying a gambling problem and gaining assistance, access an interactive map of casino locations, request a speaker for their group, along with much more information. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.

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