Harrah's Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack Fined $90,000 by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday levied fines totaling $90,000 against Chester Downs and Marina, LLC, operator of Harrah's Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack in Delaware County.

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

The largest of the fines, $70,000, stemmed from violations of processes and procedures related to the issuance of casino credit.  According to facts in the consent agreement, an audit and reviews conducted by two Bureaus of the Gaming Control Board – Gaming Operations and Casino Compliance -- found that from July 2010 and January 2013 Harrah's Credit Department routinely violated the Board's regulations and the facility's internal controls by failing to obtain authorization from a second approver prior to the issuance of credit, and failed to separate the credit verification process from the credit approval process.

A second consent agreement was approved for a $20,000 fine resulting from Harrah's permitting a 20-year-old female to enter the gaming floor, gamble at slot machines and consume alcoholic beverages over a two-hour period in April 2013. 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 next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, January 22, 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 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.

Contact: Doug Harbach or Richard McGarvey (717) 346-8321

SOURCE Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

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