The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board fined Harrah’s Chester Casino and Racetrack $70,000 for seven instances of underage gambling Wednesday.
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The Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act prohibits persons under 21 to operate slot machines. It also bars people under 18 from entering the gaming floor.
Of the seven cases at Harrah’s, four of the underage patrons were 20-year-old females and another was a 19-year-old female. The other was a 20-year-old male.
“What we’ve seen is a preponderance of young women, underage, getting into casinos all over Pennsylvania,” said board Commissioner Raymond S. Angeli at the Gaming Control Board’s meeting Wednesday. “I know you’re all here today. This is a message not only to Harrah’s, it’s a message to everybody. It needs to stop.
“Whether it’s swipe machines that every casino is going to employ, whether it’s wristbands that you’re going to put on everybody under the age of 30, whether it’s a policy that you’re going to card male and female people under the age of 30, or whether you’re going to force us to have you hire more security at every entrance, it has got to stop.”
Representatives from Harrah’s said at the meeting that the casino utilizes swipe cards and a form of wristband identification. They said the staff has undergone another round of training emphasizing the casino’s policy of carding anyone under 30 and noted that the casino has not had another incident of underage gambling.
“Harrah’s Chester has since implemented precautions to avoid those who are under the legal gambling age from entering the casino floor,” Marketing and Communications Specialist Monica Bersani said in an e-mail Thursday. “Harrah’s Chester has implemented ID scanners to all casino floor entrances and also redesigned the casino floor entrance to ensure that all patrons are required to pass through security before entering.”
This was the second time Harrah’s was fined for underage gambling since it opened in 2007. In August 2008, the casino was cited for a single underage gambling violation and for having areas of the gambling floor unmonitored by security.
Gaming Control Board spokesman Richard McGarvey said Thursday that the board levies its fines on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the amount of violations, their severity and repeat offenses.
The board also fined two other casinos for similar underage violations. Hollywood Casino at Penn National Racecourse was fined $65,000 and Presque Isle Downs and Casino was fined $15,000.
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