The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Approves $77,500 In Casino Fines
HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today approved five consent agreements involving three casinos with fines totaling $77,500.
The fines were the result of five consent agreement approvals between the PGCB’s Office of Enforcement Counsel and:
· Downs Racing, L.P., operator of Mohegan Sun Pocono in Luzerne County;
· Holdings Acquisition Co., L.P., operator of the Rivers Casino in Allegheny County; and
· Washington Trotting Association, operator of The Meadows Casino in Washington County.
Two of the consent agreements involved Mohegan Sun Pocono with fines totaling $35,000. These include:
· $30,000 for five separate incidents in which a person on the PGCB’s Self-Exclusion List was permitted to enter and gamble at the casino. Regulations for the Self-Exclusion Program state that a casino must refuse wagers from and deny any gaming privileges to a person on the list.
· $5,000 for conducting business with an unlicensed gaming service provider.
Two other approved consent agreements involved Holdings Acquisition Co. with fines totaling $27,500. These include:
· $22,500 for several incidents in which casino personnel violated PGCB regulations or the Rivers Casino’s internal controls in conducting table games.
· $5,000 for check cashing violations.
Finally, a $15,000 fine was assessed against Washington Trotting Association for permitting a 20-year-old male to access the gaming floor and gamble on slot machines at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino. Pennsylvania law requires a patron to be 21 years of age to access the gaming floor and wager on slot machines or table games.
The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 31, 2015 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 and is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state’s casino industry. There are 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos in operation, along with the two resort casinos. These facilities collectively employ over 17,700 people and generate an average of $3.7 million per day in tax revenue from slot machine and table games play. The largest portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to all Pennsylvania homeowners with additional tax revenue going to the horse racing industry, economic development projects, fire companies, county fairs, water and sewer projects, the Commonwealth’s General Fund, and to local governments that host casinos.
Additional information about both the PGCB’s regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.
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