PGCB Delivers $67,500 In Fines To Pennsylvania Casinos In July

Written By Nathan Frederick on July 28, 2023
The PGCB dished out $67,500 in fines to PA casinos this month.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved three consent agreements and issued a total of $67,500 in fines to three PA casinos for violations that were announced Wednesday during the July monthly meeting.

While unfortunate, the PGCB’s fines and corresponding consent agreements are aimed at operators to ensure that a safe and regulated gaming environment is maintained throughout Pennsylvania.

Mohegan Pennsylvania fined $50,000 for underage guests on casino floor

The largest fine issued Wednesday, a $50,000 penalty, was charged to the operator of Mohegan Pennsylvania, Downs Racing, L.P. That fine was levied because the casino allowed individuals under the age of 21 to access the gaming floor on multiple occasions.

In Wednesday’s meeting, the OEC provided additional details about the Mohegan violations. In one case, a 20-year-old used valid identification from another individual to make a blackjack wager on Dec. 14, 2021. Upon further questioning, the individual admitted he was underage and a security review revealed that he had also accessed the gaming floor on four other occasions.

The second violation focused on an incident that occurred in January 2022. In that incident, a 20-year-old patron entered Mohegan by also providing valid identification from another individual. The patron then re-used the identification to obtain multiple alcoholic beverages throughout the casino.

Security staff eventually confronted the patron and recognized the identification photo was not a clear match, spurring a confession from the patron that she was underage. No gaming was involved in the second incident.

In response, Mohegan officials noted that they have undertaken a number of initiatives to prevent further violations, which include increased signage regarding identification, an incentive for confiscating fake IDs and providing bonuses to security staff for each 100-day period they record without having a minor enter the casino.

Mohegan has also employed non-gaming security personnel to assist with the scanning process at the entrances to the casino. Those combined efforts have helped produce a recent streak of more than 500 days without a minor entering the gaming floor.

Rivers Philadelphia docked $7,500 for roulette dealer mistakes

Another consent agreement that was reached on Wednesday resulted in a $7,500 fine for Rivers Casino Philadelphia, which is operated by Sugarhouse Gaming L.P.

That fine was focused on violations made by a dealer in January 2020 that altered the results of roulette spins. On multiple occasions, a dealer stopped the roulette ball while it was spinning, removed it and placed it in the No. 20 pocket. The dealer also requested supervisor assistance to input No. 20 as a winning number.

The dealer’s errors led patrons to win a total of $2,775 in illegitimate earnings. Prior to this incident, the dealer had not been trained on roulette and had been limited to card games.

In response, Rivers Philadelphia officials noted that an investigation revealed that no collusion had occurred and it was simply a case of dealer error. They also noted that both the roulette dealer and the supervisor who were involved in the incident are no longer working for the casino.

It was the first violation of this nature for Rivers Philadelphia since 2016.

Minor earns lifetime ban for illegal entry at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh

A third consent agreement was reached between the PGCB and Holdings Acquisition L.P., operator of Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, which resulted in a fine of $10,000. That case involved an incident of underage gaming in November 2021.

An underage patron attempted to enter the gaming floor by using fake identification. Upon being challenged, the patron revealed that an underage friend was already on the gaming floor. Security soon located the other minor at a blackjack table and discovered that he had gained entry using fake identification, too.

The fake ID initially was red-flagged when the patron had attempted to gain entry, but they were allowed to enter the gaming floor by using a second form of identification. The guest spent roughly an hour on the gaming floor, including 36 minutes at a blackjack table.

No alcohol was consumed during that time period. The patron had $200 in chips confiscated, received a lifetime ban from Rivers and was also criminally charged for his actions.

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Nathan Frederick

Nathan Frederick is an award-winning writer with more than 1,000 published bylines and two decades of journalism experience. His work has won awards from the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Journalists, the Keystone Press Association, and the Associated Press Sports Editors. He has also authored three books, one of which debuted as an Amazon No. 1 New Release.

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