The
Mohegan Tribe has been fined $1 million in connection with its commercial gaming operation in Pennsylvania.
The
Mohegan Sun Pocono was fined $550,000 fine for failing to follow internal controls regarding free slot play, the main bank and internal audits, the
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced on Wednesday. Another $450,000 fine was for conducting business with unlicensed gaming service providers, the board said.
The combined total was the largest ever since gaming was legalized in the state in 2004, according to news reports. The tribe agreed to the fine, the reports said.
According to the state board, the $550,000 fine was connected to a scheme in which two former employees and a patron
defrauded the casino out of more than $400,000 in free slot play. All three have pleaded guilty.
The $450,000 fine was connected to two firms that were not licensed to do business with gaming entities in the state. One of those firms had a "business relationship" with a former executive at the casino, the board said on Wednesday.
The former executive is
Bobby Soper, whom the tribe said failed to disclose his relationship with the firm. He ran Pocono before he was promoted to serve as president and CEO of the tribe's gaming arm, previously called the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, and now known as
Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment.
Soper, a tribal citizen, paid a $60,000 fine for failing to disclose his ties, the
board announced last month.
He
resigned from the president and CEO post earlier this year.
Read More on the Story:
Mohegans' Pa. casino fined $1M for business irregularities
(The Hartford Business Journal December 14, 2017)
Mohegan Sun Pocono ordered to pay $1M fine
(The Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice December 14, 2017)
Mohegans’ Pennsylvania casino fined $1 million over lapses in financial procedures
(The New London Day December 14, 2017)
Pennsylvania casino regulators hand down record fines to Mohegan Sun Pocono
(The Associated Press December 14, 2017)
Mohegan Sun Pocono agrees to pay $1 million in fines for state gaming law violations
(The Wikes-Barre Times Leader December 13, 2017)
Mohegan Sun Pocono casino fined $1 million
(The Scranton Times-Tribune December 13, 2017)
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