Casinos fined for underage gambling

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LAS VEGAS, July 19 (UPI) -- Caesar's Entertainment Corp. of Las Vegas has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine after minors were found gambling and drinking in its casinos.

Between January 2010 and May 2012, customers between the ages of 17 and 20 gambled and drank nine separate times at Caesar's Palace, the Rio, Harrah's and the Flamingo, Nevada Gaming Commission Records show.

The Las Vegas Sun reported the customers sometimes showed identification showing they were minors and were allowed to gamble anyway.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a complaint July 10 with the Nevada Gaming Commission regarding the incidents and says Caesar's has been put on notice.

In one incident on Aug. 3, 2011, a 17-year-old gambled at Harrah's craps tables for more than 5 hours, ordered six alcoholic beverages from four different employees and was never once asked for identification. The minor was finally arrested.

"If [the police] had not arrested the minor, it is possible the minor would have left Harrah's of his own volition and the Gaming Control Board would not have learned of the incident," the complaint reads.

Jerry Markling, chief enforcer for the Gaming Control Board, said it seems casino personnel never knowingly admitted underage customers, but rather did not examine IDs close enough.

"They weren't focused enough on what they were doing," Markling told The Sun.