Harrah’s faces fine over problem gambler

Betsy Taylor

Thursday, May 1, 2003 | 9:25 a.m.

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri gaming officials have recommended a $100,000 fine against a suburban St. Louis casino for mailing promotional materials to a problem gambler.

If imposed against Harrah's Maryland Heights, the fine would be the largest handed down by the Missouri Gaming Commission for this type of offense, spokesman Harold Bailey said.

"The reason this one was higher is because after the company was contacted, they kept saying the problem was taken care of," Bailey said. "That was not the case."

The Gaming Commission received a complaint in May 2002 from a man who said his wife had voluntarily agreed to be placed on a state list of problem gamblers about five months earlier, but was receiving advertising mail from Harrah's.

Missouri gamblers who acknowledge a problem can voluntarily sign up for a list where they can be arrested for trespassing if they try to enter a casino. As part of the arrangement, casinos are supposed to remove the names of the problem gamblers from their mailing lists.

A marketing director for Harrah's Maryland Heights denied that the casino had sent the mailing to the woman, the commission's report said. That employee is no longer with the company, a Harrah's spokesman said.

On June 3 the woman received another mailing from the casino, including promotional coupons with her name stamped on them.

"There were several other mailings from Harrah's in Nevada," Bailey said. "That kind of compounded the problem."

Bailey said the casino and mail bans are intended to help a person trying to overcome problem gambling habits. "An analogy would be a person who had an alcohol problem who wouldn't want a coupon for a free drink," he said.

In June a Harrah's employee told the commission's agent they were aware of the woman's status on the state problem gambling list, but the company had failed to attach that status to one of the woman's player accounts, which was why she received the mailings.

Gaming commissioners at a meeting Tuesday in Jefferson City recommended the $100,000 fine against Harrah's Maryland Heights, more commonly known as Harrah's St. Louis.

The casino has 30 days to request a hearing. If no request is made, a final order will be made to impose the fine.

Harrah's spokesman Jeff Tarr said the casino's senior management was new since last fall, and was looking into what happened. He said Harrah's is committed to responsible gaming and would never purposely try to advertise to someone on the state's restricted list.

Tarr could not recall a similar incident in his four years with the company.

Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment Inc. operates the Mardi Gras and Island casinos in Maryland Heights, which share a common entrance. The casinos had about 9.6 million guests last year.