The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Fines Casino
and Sanctions Employee for Underage Gambling Incidents
HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today approved a fine of $20,000 against SugarHouse HSP Gaming, LP, for allowing two underage individuals to gamble at its Philadelphia casino.
The fine was the result of the approval of a consent agreement between its Office of Enforcement Counsel and SugarHouse HSP Gaming, and involved two instances of permitting individuals under the age of 21 to access its casino floor and gamble:
- January 10, 2014 - a 19 year old male gained access to the gaming floor then gambled at table games;
- February 12, 2014 - an 18 year old male gained access to the gaming floor then gambled at slot machines.
In addition, the Board also placed sanctions on the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in Montgomery County. The Board approved a consent agreement that suspends Michael S. Bowman’s Key Employee License for a period of 15 days for his role in permitting two underage females to gain access to the casino in May of 2013. The Board approved a consent agreement in June of this year that assessed a fine against the casino for this incident.
The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, November 19, 2014 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 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos in operation, along with the two resort casinos, collectively employ over 17,700 people within their facilities and generate an average of $4 million per day in tax revenue from slot machine and table games play. 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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