CEO suspended for allowing underage women access to casino

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board suspended the chief executive of Valley Forge Casino Resort for 15 days for "recklessly" allowing two underage women access to the casino floor in May 2013.

The consent order, approved Wednesday at a regular meeting of the gaming board in Harrisburg, also requires the executive, Michael Bowman, to participate in eight hours of training and issue a letter of apology all Valley Forge employees.

Bowman will also lose two weeks' pay as a penalty from the casino, Bowman's lawyer, Stephen D. Schrier, of Blank Rome L.L.P., told the board.

Under a previous agreement, Bowman was to have been fined $4,000 for the incident on Memorial Day 2013, a time when Bowman was unhappy with customer service at the property. Bowman helped two women who were hotel guests and banquet attendees gain access to the casino floor, waving them through when a security guard held them up to check if they were old enough.

They were 20, but Bowman said in June that he thought they were at least 30. The women were in the casino for less than half an hour, and did not gamble or drink alcoholic beverages, the gaming board said.

The board rejected the deal in June, not convinced that the penalty was steep enough and that Bowman understood the gravity of his misstep.

On Wednesday, he faced just one question, from board chairman William H. Ryan Jr.: "Do you understand the recklessness of your conduct that day?"

Bowman answered with a simple "I do."

Bowman sent a letter to Valley Forge employees in July and started to attend training sessions.

Separately, the gaming board fined SugarHouse Casino $20,000 for incidents of underage gambling this year.

In one case, a 19-year-old male slipped past the first check by a security guard with an identification card showing another person.

A blackjack dealer also checked the ID and doubted its authenticity, but a table games supervisor overruled the dealer and let the underage person play four hands - and lose $60.

A pit manager stepped in to catch the underage gambler.