Mark Twain Casino faces possible $5,000 fine for gaming violations

Print

Posted: Feb. 27, 2019 5:00 pm Updated: Feb. 28, 2019 9:56 am

LaGRANGE, Mo. -- The Missouri Gaming Commission is proposing that disciplinary action be taken against Mark Twain Casino for several alleged violations of gaming rules.

At its monthly meeting Wednesday in Jefferson City, the MGC unanimously approved a "preliminary order for disciplinary action" that recommends the LaGrange casino be fined $5,000.

The casino will have 30 days to appeal the recommendation or the action becomes final.

A document presented at the meeting by the commission's staff showed the casino is being penalized for failing to correct three "significant findings" uncovered in a compliance audit for the period from July 1, 2015, through April 30, 2017.

MORE INFORMATION: Read the document presented by the commission's staff.

The three failures were detected in a follow-up audit in February 2018.

According to the report, the following findings were not corrected:

º The original audit revealed that two casino "hosts" had the ability to void point redemptions. Under state gaming rules, only supervisors can void point redemptions, and hosts are not considered to be supervisors. The casino's management told MGC auditors that the ability to void point redemptions by the hosts was removed in August 2017. However, the follow-up audit found three casino hosts -- "including the two from the original finding" -- had access to point redemptions in February 2018.

º The original audit found that the casino "failed to investigate daily cashless meter variances" between the electronic gaming devices and the casino's slot data systems and "failed to reconcile the variances prior to filing the daily tax transmittal with the MGC" as required by law. The management told auditors that procedures were implemented in June 2017 to make sure variance reports were investigated and reconciled, but the follow-up audit showed problems related to meter variances were still surfacing.

º The original audit noted that the commission's electronic gaming device coordinator "was not notified of any cashless variances" during the month of November 2016 as required by gaming regulations. The casino's management said steps were implemented in June 2017 to ensure any variances were properly investigated and reported to the MGC. However, the follow-up audit showed a "variance tracking sheet" used to notify the MGC of cashless variances was missing four variances.

Since all three of the problems uncovered in the follow-up audit were violations of state gaming regulations, the casino automatically was subject to disciplinary action. As a result, the commission's staff recommended the casino be fined $5,000.

Read more https://www.whig.com/20190227/mark-twain-casino-faces-possible-5000-fine-for-gaming-violations