PA Gaming Control Board Fines Casino for Underage Gambling Violations

A $16,000 fine was levied today by the Commonwealth's gaming oversight agency on a western Pennsylvania casino operator for violations dealing with underage gambling.

The fine was part of a consent agreement between the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and Holdings Acquisition Co. L.P., operator of the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh. The civil penalties, unanimously approved by the Board at its public meeting in Harrisburg, were for incidents that occurred at Rivers Casino in October and December of 2009.

Under the consent agreement, Rivers Casino agreed to pay a civil fine of $16,000 for two incidents. The first occurred on October 14, 2009 when a 15-year-old female was able to gain entry to the gaming floor and to place wagers at a slot machine for approximately 17 minutes. The second was for an instance on December 13, 2009 when a 14-year-old male was able to gain entry to the gaming floor and to place wagers at a slot machine for approximately 4 minutes.

The Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act provides that it is unlawful for persons under 21 years of age to operate or use slot machines and that individuals under 18 years of age may not enter the gaming floor of a licensed facility.

During the past two years, the Gaming Control Board has levied fines statewide on eight occasions for violations of underage gambling or minors on the gaming floor totaling $232,500.

In other business, the Board approved>>>

Judge to Harrah’s: Turn over records on high roller’s intoxication claims

By Liz Benston (contact)

Published Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 | 1:06 p.m.

Updated Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 | 8:50 p.m.

A Clark County District Court ruled today that Harrah’s Entertainment must turn over records to attorneys representing a high roller who allegedly owes $14.7 million in gambling debts.

Businessman Terrance Watanabe, one of the biggest gamblers in Las Vegas history, alleges casino giant Harrah’s Entertainment not only kept him drunk but fed him drugs to induce his massive gambling losses.

Watanabe lost $127 million in Harrah’s-owned Caesars Palace and Rio casinos in 2006 and 2007 and has paid about $112 million of that to the company. A grand jury indicted Watanabe on felony theft charges in April for passing bad checks stemming from the remaining amount Harrah’s says it is owed.

Watanabe, facing 28 years in prison if convicted, claims he doesn’t owe the money because the markers he signed aren’t enforceable.

Watanabe also claims Harrah’s had agreed to forgive the amount of gambling losses he owed by 30 percent and had racked up gambling rewards points entitling him to further discounts. He also says Harrah’s agreed to withhold collection of his markers for at least 60 days.

District Court Judge Jennifer Togliatti>>>

Abramoff revisited in Alex Gibney's 'Casino Jack and the United States of Money'

By Ann Hornaday

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 31, 2010

A couple of unexpected guests showed up at the world premiere of "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this month: former congressman Bob Ney and his erstwhile chief of staff Neil Volz, both of whom were implicated in the bribery and fraud scandals surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the film's subject.

and more here>>>

Fidelity fires four employees for playing fantasy football

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on December 16, 2009 10:56 AM ET

Fantasy football can get expensive, but no one has paid more for it than Cameron Pettigrew.

Pettigrew was fired from Fidelity Investments in Westlake, Texas for running an office league, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The smoking gun wasn't even an obnoxious trash-talking email. Pettigrew was smart enough not to send any emails from work, but "investigators" found two instant messages with fantasy football-related material.

"One of my buddies sent me something about how bad Trent Edwards was playing or something like that," Pettigrew said. (If complaining about Trent Edwards was a crime, no one could work in Buffalo.)

"So they called me in and talked to me for about 90 minutes on everything I ever knew about fantasy football," Pettigrew continued. "They interrogated me as though I was some sort of international gambling kingpin. Then they released me for the day, and I was like, 'OK.' I never thought they'd fire me for this, but, the next day, I get the call saying I had been terminated."

Pettigrew says there were at least ten leagues in his office and four commissioners were canned. There's a lesson here: Being the commish is a thankless job with no upside.

While the firing sounds heartless, the corporate>>>

Feds: 2 cops took cash payments from illegal gambling operations

BY BEN WOLFGANG (STAFF WRITER bwolfgang@republicanherald.com)
Published: December 16, 2009

SHENANDOAH - There was corruption in the ranks of the Shenandoah Police Department even before the 2008 beating death of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Two members of the force, Chief Matthew Nestor and Capt. Jamie Gennarini, were charged Tuesday with multiple counts of extortion and civil rights violations. Federal authorities allege Nestor and Gennarini allowed illegal gambling operations to set up shop in Shenandoah from 2004 to 2007, taking cash payments from the operations, according to federal indictments un-sealed Tuesday.

Both face a maximum of 20 years for extortion and a maximum of 10 years for conspiracy to violate civil rights.

The two officers also allegedly took a local businessman into custody on May 17, 2007, and held him at the borough police station until his family paid $2,000 in cash, authorities said. Officials have not released the name of the businessman.

Before taking the businessman into custody, Gennarini allegedly said, "This is the way we are going to do business in Shenandoah," according to the indictment.

Three officers - Nestor, Lt. Bill Moyer and Jason Hayes - were also charged Tuesday with conspiring to obstruct justice for their actions in the aftermath of Ramirez's beating.

Moyer has also been charged with witness and evidence tampering and lying to the FBI, according to authorities.

Each officer faces up to 20 years in prison on>>>

Kentucky Online Gambling Domain Name Arguments Heard By Supreme Court

The state of Kentucky held firm to their belief on Thursday that they acted within state law when they seized 141 online gambling domain names. Attorneys for the gambling sites also held their ground.

Attorneys for the two sides made their cases in front of the Kentucky Supreme Court Thursday, and a ruling on which side is right may not come down for weeks, possibly even months. The two sides took turns arguing their points, trying to convince the state's highest court that their position is the correct one.

At issue is whether or not the state had the right to seize the domain names. The state contends that the gambling sites were being used for an illegal activity in Kentucky, online gambling. In their eyes, that gave them the right to seize the domains.

Lawyers for the sites, however,>>>

Online Casinos Elite Explain Gambling and Its Types

Jeff Grant, seo expert, freelancer in the gambling industry from 1987 and actual manager of the directory "online casinos elite," explain gambling and its types to give a more clear concept to this terminology.

Genova, Italy, October 15, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Jeff Grant, seo expert, freelancer in the gambling industry from 1987 and actual manager of the directory "online casinos elite", explain gambling and its types to give a more clear concept to this terminology.

Gambling is staking money or some material value at a particular event with a vague outcome and a chief intention of winning extra money or goods. Basically, the result of stake is clear in a certain period of time.

The term Gambling particularly in this context implies to examples in which it is legally permitted by law. Gambling is combination of two different words gaming and legal. Gambling is mainly chosen by people as a recreational activity. Most of the people play this game for fun and earn extra money. It is very difficult to overcome addiction to gambling. Gambling is often seen as a medium of escape from worldly tensions and worries by many people who are going through a difficult phase.

Today there are several forms of>>>