New Jersey Division of Gambling Enforcement (DGE) recently fined a Golden Nugget sportsbook supervisor $1,250 for playing poker and betting on horse racing at the Borgata Casino. It is not legal for any person that has a New Jersey casino key employee license to gamble in any casino in the state.
The DGE began investigating the matter in August. There was no mention of how the NJ gambling regulator was alerted to the supervisor’s poker session, but the DGE confirmed, “The gambling activity was captured on surveillance.”
The Golden Nugget employee could have been fined up to $20,000 for each of the five recorded violations, as the public notice showed they were facing a potential penalty of $100,000.
The detailed findings of the DGE read: “At 6:34 p.m. on Aug. 2, 2019, you bought $300 in chips from the poker room cage and commenced playing poker. At 7:46 p.m., you cashed out $129. At 7:50 p.m., you entered the simulcasting area and placed a $28 horse race wager, which did not win. You then returned to the poker room at 8:03 p.m., bought $700 in chips, and resumed poker play. At 12:26 a.m., you cashed out for $1,014. At 6:52 p.m. on Aug. 3, 2019, you bought $200 in chips and played poker at several tables in the main poker room. At 8:42 p.m., you cashed out $283 and proceeded to play at a different table. You continued to play poker until you cashed out for $305 at 2:14 a.m. on Aug. 4, 2019.”
According to the DGE, the original penalty was for $831 and the $419 that the supervisor won in the poker session was added to that for the total fine of $1,250.
While the case of a casino worker playing poker at a rival property is somewhat unusual in the New Jersey gambling landscape, this is not the first time the DGE has had to issue sanctions against licensed operators or their staff.
In early 2019 the DGE levied a fine of $2,000 for the Resorts Hotel Casino for taking illegal wagers on college games. New Jersey sportsbooks are not permitted to take bets on any sporting event that involves a school or university from the Garden State.
Often times, New Jersey gaming regulators put more weight on issues such as problem gambling and underage gambling. In March of this year the Hard Rock Casino was fined $1,000 for failing to detect an underage on the casino floor. Another New Jersey casino was fined $1,500 for sending promotional material to self-excluded players.