Hard Rock fined for allowing sex acts in public

By Liz Benston (contact)

Thursday, July 18, 2002 | 11:09 a.m.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine to settle complaints about public sex acts in a nightclub at the resort and for other problems, regulators said Wednesday.

State Gaming Control Board investigators have been investigating the casino for several months following complaints about risque behavior, Gaming Control Board member Bobby Siller said.

Investigators listed three counts of "innapropriate sexual conduct" by patrons at the property's Baby's nightclub, said a July 12 gaming board complaint.

The complaint said July 15, 2001, surveillance tapes of Baby's starting at 2:21 a.m. revealed "overt sexual activity taking place in a seating area above the dance floor in a so-called 'private' booth that is visible to the public" -- activity violating state gaming regulations.

Further, the "conducted occurred in the presence of security officers employed by the Hard Rock," the complaint said.

The complaint said public, inappropriate sexual conduct by patrons in the private booths was witnessed by board agents on July 20 and was recorded again by surveillance video on July 22. In all cases, the activity in the "private" booth was visible to the public.

The property also was cited for failure to make a timely application for approval of one of its officers. The company's director of finance, James Brown, did not file for licensing until June 20, 2001, though he had been elected as an officer in April 2000, the complaint said.

Also, surveillance cameras on the property were used inappropriately by staff. Cameras were turned on patrons "beyond the time necessary to reasonably determine whether illegal activities were occurring," inconsistent with normal surveillance protocol. Also, cameras were inappropriately aimed at gaming board agents while they were investigating the property.

Hard Rock President Don Marrandino and company attorney Jeffrey Silver on July 1 agreed to settle the allegations by having the casino take corrective actions and pay the fine.

The Nevada Gaming Commission will have the final say on whether to close the matter by accepting the fine.

The complaint is part of a wider probe of entertainment venues in Las Vegas, which appear to be creating risque environments as a way to draw a younger audience, Siller said.

Enforcement agents have been going out to various casino nightclubs "almost every night" to make sure they aren't breaking the law, he said.

Agents have not yet found any problems at other properties.

The investigation isn't intended to enforce any moral authority, Siller said.

"We don't set any moral standard of behavior. We just hold licensees accountable to operate within established guidelines and the parameters."

"We want people to have a great time, but they have to operate within existing city ordinances and laws."

The settlement with regulators was an amicable one, Marrandino said, adding that the property has moved on from events that happened some time ago. "We think we've taken corrective steps with the training of our employees to make sure this doesn't happen again," he said today.