Two Atlantic City casinos have been fined a total of $66,000, with the bulk of the fines levied against Harrah's Resort Atlantic City for letting underage patrons gamble and drink.
Harrah's was fined $60,000 by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for five incidents involving patrons ranging in age from 18 to 20. The minimum age for gambling and drinking in New Jersey is 21.
In one instance, Harrah's let a 20-year-old from New York play blackjack even after a security guard checked his ID.
The patron, identified in legal documents only as "AT," went to a security podium and asked for a wrist band that would indicate that his age had been checked and verified by casino security. But the identification he presented was expired, and "AT" was denied a wrist band.
But he went to a blackjack table and began playing anyway. About 10 minutes later, security removed him from the table and took him to a temporary holding area where he presented his true identification, a New York state driver's license indicating he was 20 years old, that even had the words "Under 21" stamped on it.
The gaming enforcement division said the guard misread the license, handed it back to "AT" and allowed him to return to a table, where he played 55 more hands before being challenged again and finally removed from the casino.
In another incident, Harrah's allowed an 18-year-old from New York to gamble and drink for nine hours, during which he interacted with 12 different dealers and five supervisors. The patron, identified only as "LC," also was given eight bottles of beer by four different servers.
It was only when he was found unconscious in a Keno parlor that the casino checked for identification, and found that what he had did not belong to him. Paramedics were called and he was taken to a nearby hospital.
In a different case, Harrah's allowed a 19-year-old New Jersey woman to gamble and drink for nine hours, placing 195 bets at a roulette table while consuming eight alcoholic drinks. In two other cases, it allowed an 18-year-old woman to drink at a casino bar, and let a 20-year-old play slots on two different dates.
The Golden Nugget was fined $6,000 for not including the 1-800-GAMBLER message in an outdoor advertisement for its Internet gambling website.
The fines were made public last week.
The casinos did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incidents, which took place over the past two years.
___
Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC