Mandalay hopes for lower fine

Monday, Nov. 25, 2002 | 11:11 a.m.

ELGIN, Ill. -- The Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin has mounted an aggressive effort to persuade the Illinois Gaming Board to reduce a $7.2 million fine based on allegations of contracts with a mob-connected firm and improper shredding of documents, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The newspaper said that while Grand Victoria denounced the fine proposed a year ago as excessive, the state's most lucrative casino also has overhauled staff, bought top-of-the-line security equipment and tightened procedures that by all accounts had gone lax.

The casino is co-owned by Chicago's Pritzker family -- owner of the Hyatt Corp. hotel chain and partners in the failed Superior Bank -- and Las Vegas-based Mandalay Resort Group. The casino's revenue is more than $416 million a year.

Gaming Board Chairman Elzie Higginbottom told the Tribune that he expects a settlement to be reached soon and suggested the board may be open to lowering the fine.

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