The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Approves $72,500 in Casino Fines

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today approved fines totaling $72,500 against three casino operators for various violations.

The fines were the result of the approvals of consent agreements between the PGCB's Office of Enforcement Counsel and:

• SugarHouse HSP Gaming, LP, operator of the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia for Self-Exclusion List violations
• Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., operator of Parx Casino in Bucks County for mailing marketing materials to persons on the PGCB's Self-Exclusion List
• Chester Downs and Marina, LLC., operator of Harrah's Philadelphia Casino in Delaware County for jackpot violations

Details
A fine of $50,000 was levied against SugarHouse HSP Gaming, LP for instances during 2013 and 2014 in which 11 persons on the PGCB's Self-Exclusion List obtained cash advances. By law, casinos must establish procedures to deny self-excluded persons from receiving check cashing privileges and other similar benefits such as cash advances.

The fine levied against Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, Inc. was for $15,000 for the February 2015 distribution on two separate occasions by a third-party vendor of promotional mailings to 146 persons on the Board's Self-Exclusion List.  Per regulations, a casino licensee must ensure that self-excluded persons do not receive any promotional materials relating to gaming activities at its facility.

Chester Downs and Marina, LLC received a $7,500 fine for an October 2014 incident in which a slot machine jackpot was paid to a patron other than the patron who was seated at the slot machine when the jackpot registered. This payout was in violation of Harrah's internal controls that require that the actual jackpot winner's name be checked against the Board's voluntary and involuntary exclusion lists. Additionally, those internal controls do not include a procedure for a payout other than to the actual jackpot winner.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, September 23, 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 17,000 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.

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

SOURCE Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

Related Links

http://www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov

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