Caesars fined $85,000 for letting minors gamble, drink

John Curran

Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2001 | 4:39 a.m.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Caesars Atlantic City Hotel Casino was fined $85,000 Wednesday for letting minors gamble and drink there.

On four occasions during a two-month period in 1999, people under 21 were caught playing slot machines in the casino by state police and the state Division of Gaming Enforcement officials.

The arrests stemmed from a "Cops In Shops" program aimed at underage drinking but expanded into casinos that summer.

The first occurred July 14, when investigators spotted Aaron Spoelhof, 18, of Grand Rapids, Mich., playing a 50-cent slot machine at Caesars.

Suspecting him to be under 21 - the minimum age for casino gambling - two investigators approached him and asked him for identification before arresting him.

On Aug. 13, two investigators spotted Eric Acosta, 19, of Allentown, Pa., playing a slot machine and drinking alcohol. He was arrested after producing identification.

On Sept. 4, Anna Shotwell, 19, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was caught playing a slot machine. She, too, was arrested.

On Sept. 17, two state police detectives spotted three men they believed to be under 21 playing blackjack. Pangioti Tountas, 20, his brother Nicholas Tountas, 18, both of Pleasantville, and Andreas Kozonas, 19, of Absecon, were arrested.

Underage gambling in New Jersey is the equivalent of a disorderly persons offense and punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Typically, casinos get fined $10,000 per violation. But Caesars was fined $45,000 - $15,000 for each person - because they were playing a game that required face-to-face interaction with casino employees, according to Katherine Lyons, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Acosta, who failed to appear in Superior Court to face charges, is the subject of an arrest warrant now. The others all pleaded guilty and were fined between $150 and $1,000, Lyons said.

According to Caesars, more than 9,300 minors were either ejected, arrested or barred from entering its casino in 1998, 10,860 in 1999 and 8,317 in the first 10 months of 2000.

Caesars lawyer Lynne Hughes told members of the state Casino Control Commission on Wednesday that the casino was under the ownership of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. at the time and was not participating in Project 21, an educational awareness program used by casinos to prevent minors from gambling.

Caesars, which is now owned by Park Place Entertainment Corp., now participates in the program and instructs employees on how to spot people under 21.

The casino has been punished for allowing minors at least twice before. In 1987, it was fined $2,000 and in 1989 it was fined $10,000 and ordered to donate $90,000 to health facilities for letting a minor gamble and drink at Caesars.