$68,000 In Fines Levied By the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday levied fines totaling $68,000 against two casinos and one vendor.

The fines were the result of consent agreements between the PGCB's Office of Enforcement Counsel and the casino license holders and vendor which were approved by the Board at its public meeting in Harrisburg.

The largest of the fines, $56,000, was against Sands Bethworks Gaming, LLC, operator of the Sand Casino Resort Bethlehem in Northampton County for four separate incidents this year in which underage individuals gained access to the gaming floor.

The incidents at the Sands Casino occurred between February and June of this year:

February 7, 2013 - an 18 year old female gained access to the gaming floor then gambled at both slot machines and table games;
February 17, 2013 - a 20 year old male gained access to the gaming floor then gambled at both slot machines and table games;
March 17, 2013 - a 19 year old male gained access to the gaming floor then gambled on slot machines and at table games, and consumed alcohol;
June 3, 2013 - a 17 year old female gained access to the gaming floor then gambled at table games.

The Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act provides that it is unlawful for persons under 21 years of age to wager, play or attempt to play slot machines or table games, as well as enter and remain in any area of a licensed facility where slot machines are operated or the play of table games is conducted.

The Board also levied a fine of $7,500 today against Washington Trotting Association, Inc., operator of The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington County for allowing promotional mailings to be sent to 17 individuals on the Gaming Control Board's Self-Exclusion List.

The PGCB's Self-Exclusion Program permits problem gamblers to ban themselves from gambling at Pennsylvania casinos. The Self-Excluded individual is informed at the time when they agree to be placed on the list that they could be charged with criminal trespass if they enter a Pennsylvania casino. In addition, the casino also agrees to follow procedures to remove self-excluded persons from targeted mailings along with other forms of advertising or promotions.

To date, more than 5,500 individuals have requested to be excluded from Pennsylvania casinos.

Finally, the Board approved a consent agreement that fined Reinhart Foodservice, LLC of Rosemont, IL $4,500 for failure to renew its Gaming Service Provider license but conducting business with Pennsylvania casinos with an expired license.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, October 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 12 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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