Pennsylvania casinos fail to stop minors

Boy, 15, played slots at casino for an hour
Thursday, February 10, 2011
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Rivers Casino was fined $105,000 by the state Gaming Control Board today in connection with seven instances of underage gambling, including one on New Year's Day when a 15-year-old boy played slot machines for an hour.

The Meadows Racetrack and Casino also was fined $30,000 by the gambing board for three episodes of underage violations. In one, a 3-year-old child was taken into the casino by his stepmother. According to the gaming board, the two were in the casino for only a matter of minutes and did not gamble.

Both fines were the result of consent agreements reached with the casinos and approved at today's meeting.

According to the gambling board, the Rivers' violations stretched from June to January and involved gamblers ranging in age from 15 to 20. In the incident involving the 15-year-old boy, the teenager was cited by state police for underage gaming and both he and his mother were banned from the casino for life.

In another incident in September, an 18-year-old female played slot machines for about half an hour. She also had been issued a player's card by the casino on Feb. 15, 2010, and had used it three times that month. She was cited for underage gaming and carrying false identification.

Besides the incident involving the 3-year-old, The Meadows was fined for a July episode in which two chldren, ages 9 and 11, entered the gambling floor with their mother. According to the board, they were there for only minutes and none gambled.

The fines are the second for both facilities. The Rivers Casino also was fined $16,000 in January 2010 for one instance of underage gambling. The Meadows was fined $5,000 in December 2009, also for a single instance of underage gambling.