The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has slapped the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem with two separate fines totaling $230,000. One fine is for allowing underage gamblers on the floor, the other for abusing the free-play system of rewards. In addition to the penalties, the casino will be required to pay $5,000 in administrative frees.
The first fine resulted from a January incident in which an underage person gained access to Sands Bethlehem’s casino floor by presenting identification that belonged to his older brother. While on the floor, where he was for four hours and 39 minutes, the patron gambled at a blackjack table and was served five alcoholic beverages.
Two days later, he returned, walking onto the floor after the same ID was scanned. This time around, he spent three hours and 22 minutes on the floor, gambling at two tables and consuming three drinks, before he was discovered as underage while exiting the casino floor’s retail store.
The patron was one of 11 underage customers, ranging from 18 to 20 years old, discovered on the casino floor over a 10-month period stretching from March 2018 to January, according to a report in the Allentown Morning Call. The 11 underage gamblers spent a total of around 24 hours on the casino’s floor. Some entered without being asked for ID, while others used someone else’s ID or a fake.
For these incidents, Sands Bethlehem will pay a $120,000 fine to the gaming board, as well as another $2,500 to cover the state’s costs related to the case.
For the free-play penalty, the state discovered 6,428 free slot play transactions that violated the approved “comp matrix,” with employees issuing about $1.05 million in excess of authorized amounts. Sands has since updated its internal controls.
Sands Bethlehem will pay a fine of $110,000 to the board and a $2,500 fee to cover the board’s costs in connection with the matter.
Sands Bethlehem is in the process of being sold to Wind Creek Hospitality, an arm of Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
