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The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) approved two consent agreements last week, presented by the Office of Enforcement Counsel (OEC).
The approved consent agreements were the result of negotiations between OEC and:
- Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC, operator of Hollywood Casino York
- TCS John Huxley America, Inc. and TCS John Huxley Europe, Ltd, a licensed table game manufacturer
The board had previously issued fines for violations that occurred with a Pennsylvania casino and gaming manufacturer licensee. As the Pennsylvania regulator announced via a news release, the total fines levied were $100,350.
The owner of the Hollywood Casino York is Penn National Gaming, which runs 43 properties in 20 states.
Penn’s Hollywood Casino York to pay a $78,000 fine
Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, which operates Hollywood Casino York, received a $78,000 fine for failure to meet minimum security staffing requirements.
In other words, a consent agreement between the casino and the PGCB, says the Springettsbury Township site failed to meet “minimum staffing requirements.” The OEC discovered that Hollywood Casino failed to meet these requirements on 55 days between May 29 and Sept. 17, 2022.
As The York Dispatch reports, and according to the agreement titled “mitigating circumstances,” the casino said it hired a new security director in July 2022. Hollywood Casino later noted that hiring within its security department “accelerated significantly.”
According to PGCB documents, the casino estimates it needs:
- 23 security officers to meet minimum security staffing requirements assuming no time off
- 32 officers assuming two security officers are not off, and employed 40 such officers at the end of Sept. 2022.
According to The York Dispatch article, the agreement says:
“Hollywood Casino York is continuously posting and marketing security officer positions with the goal of hiring between two and four candidates per month to proactively address ongoing attrition and maintain a staffing level of between 36 to 40 security officers.”
In addition to the $78,000 fine, the OEC suggested Penn Entertainment pays $2,500 to cover administrative costs. Penn agreed to the financial penalty, and the PGCB signed off on the consent agreement last week.
According to the agreement, this is the first penalty against the casino for security minimum staffing requirements. However, Pennsylvania regulators have previously penalized Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association. The regulator issued a $45,000 fine for the association for allowing five people enrolled in the board’s self-exclusion program to place bets using Barstool Sportsbook.
Fine for failure to file Principal Licensing applications
TCS John Huxley America, a licensed table game manufacturer, received a $22,350 fine for failure to file principal licensing applications.
The board also acted on petitions filed by OEC to ban five adults from all casinos in the state for leaving nine children unattended to engage in gambling.
