Station Casinos to pay one fine, appeal another

Thursday, March 25, 1999 | 11:40 a.m.

The Kansas City Star reported the violations included false advertising for claiming in 1997 that its casinos offered "Missouri's loosest slots" when in fact a Harrah's casino was offering the highest payouts to gamblers.

Other violations covered by the fine included irregularities with a car giveaway, serving alcohol to intoxicated patrons, failing to make full and timely tax payments and another false advertising claim that the Kansas City operation offered "over 400" nickel and dime slot machines. In fact, there were fewer than 200 such slots.

Also at Wednesday's Missouri Gaming Commission meeting, regulators proposed another fine of $20,000 against Station's St. Charles, Mo., casino, for surveillance violations.

Regulators claim security officers who were supposed to be monitoring video surveillance cameras on Jan. 30 were instead playing cards.

Troy Stremming, a Station attorney, said the company plans to appeal. Station officials say the officers were actually engaged in training exercises that included watching for cheating techniques, the Star reported.

Gaming Commission officials said that regardless of whether the officers were training or playing cards, they were supposed to be monitoring the display screens full time.