Casino operator’s license appears to be safe

Friday, Sept. 24, 1999 | 10:42 a.m.

ATLANTIC CITY -- The New Jersey Casino Control Commission concluded a three-day hearing involving Park Place Entertainment on Thursday with enforcement officials recommending that the Las Vegas company's New Jersey licenses not be revoked because the company broke no state laws.

Hearings were held to investigate the involvement of predecessor company Bally's Entertainment with Bolley "Bo" Johnson, the former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, now jailed on tax evasion charges. Bally's hired Johnson as a real estate consultant in 1994, paying him $240,500 for his services. Bally's was attempting at the time to put an initiative on the state's ballot that would partially legalize gaming. Bally's admitted that it received little if any services for those payments.

The Division of Gaming Enforcement expressed strong concerns over those actions, but concluded that the commission shouldn't take punitive action against Park Place, because no state laws were violated.

However, the DGE proposed that five new provisions be added to Park Place's New Jersey license that would raise reporting requirements considerably.

The New Jersey commission must still approve the recommended provisions. That commission on Oct. 1 may take other actions, and still has the option of taking punitive measures against Park Place.