Rivers casino fined for underage gambling
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HARRISBURG -- The Rivers casino was fined $150,000 by the state Gaming Control Board today for more than a dozen incidents related to underage gambling and improperly connected slot machines.
Of that fine, $80,000 resulted from three underage-gaming cases, during which individuals either were not asked for identification or for some reason were still able to access slot machines and table games.
In one situation, a young man visited the casino on his 21st birthday, and asked for a duplicate player's card. It was then discovered that he was issued the original card when he was 20 years old, and had visited the casino nine times before he was legally allowed to enter the building.
Michael Sklar, a lawyer representing the Rivers, said the casino does not condone underage gambling. He urged the board to consider stronger penalties for the teenagers who try to illegally enter casinos, rather than only boosting fines for the gaming establishments.
Gaming Control Board Chairman Greg Fajt said additional disincentives, like suspending a driver's license or adding a young person to the list of excluded casino patrons, could be considered. But he said that casinos should increase their training to ensure that all staffers are prepared to identify and remove underage visitors.
The remaining $70,000 of the Rivers fine resulted from several incidents last year in which a slot machine was put into service without proper testing and certification. Those machines did not tally certain financial information during that time, though gaming officials said the revenues were later calculated and paid by the casino.
Mr. Sklar said the Rivers since has updated its procedures to require two technicians inspect a machine before it is placed on the gaming floor.
Two other casinos also were fined today for underage gambling incidents: Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe County will pay a $160,000 penalty for an incident in which seven 16- and 17-year-olds who accessed the table games floor, and Hollywood Casino in Dauphin County will pay $40,000 after a 20-year-old played table games and slots for two hours.
First Published July 20, 2011 2:08 pm
