Four Pennsylvania casinos have welcomed the new year on bad footing after receiving total fines of $62,500 for various gambling violations.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), which oversees all aspects of the state’s casino industry, announced on Wednesday that it would levy fines against casino operators Holdings Acquisition Corp. (HAC), Woodlands Fayette, LLC (WFL), Mount Airy #1, LLC (Mount Airy), and Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, Inc. (GGEI).
HAC, which operates Rivers Casino in Allegheny County, received the biggest penalty of $40,000 for repeated table game procedure violations.
“The fine imposed on Holdings Acquisition Cop., L.P. was the result of four incidents in which errors compromised the integrity of table games,” the state regulator said in a statement.
WFL and Mount Airy were fined $10,000 and $7,500, respectively, for self-exclusion list violations, according to the state regulator. Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment was hit with a $5,000 fine after a dealer at Parx Casino mishandled 22 hands of Three Card Poker.
The PGCB reminded casino operators to “refuse wagers” and “deny gaming privileges to any Self-Excluded person, along with denying check cashing privileges and player club memberships.”
Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania regulator has approved the license renewal of Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino operator Downs Racing, L.P.
PGCB’s seven members unanimously voted to renew Downs Racing’s license after the casino operator proved that it had fulfilled its obligations under its previously-approved casino operator’s license.
Prior to the approval of Downs Racing’s license, the state regulator said it held a public hearing last year, in which representatives of Mohegan Sun Pocono submitted documents and presented testimonies on the facility’s operation since its last license renewal was granted in August 2013.
The board members also took their turn in grilling Downs Racing representatives on “any remaining issues” before they voted on the license renewal.
Data from the PGCB showed that Mohegan Sun Pocono, which operates over 2,300 slot machines and 91 table games, has remitted $1.38 billion gaming tax revenue to the state since it opened in November 2006.
