Racetrack fined over underage gambler

Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2002 | 11:14 a.m.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has fined Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino $10,000 after it allowed a 19-year-old man to play slot machines in July.

Prairie Meadows officials this week signed an agreement acknowledging the violation, commission administrator Jack Ketterer said Tuesday.

It was the second time Prairie Meadows has been fined for underage gambling in the past two months. State law prohibits anyone under 21 from gambling or being on a casino floor.

The latest incident occurred July 29, when the 19-year-old man entered the casino with another man and played slot machines for almost four hours, commission documents said.

Daryl Lewis, a Prairie Meadows spokeswoman, said the underage man had been working at the Canterbury Downs horse racing track in Minnesota suburban Minneapolis, where it is legal to gamble at age 18.

"He entered the casino thinking he was fine and no one saw him," Lewis said. "He was not aware that he had to be 21 to be in the casino here."