Nevada casino faces $500K fine after altercations on property

The Nevada Gaming Commission will consider imposing a $500,000 fine on a Laughlin casino Thursday after it failed to report two physical altercations involving the resort’s security officers.

One incident involved a false report of an employee smoking marijuana during his shift and a subsequent skirmish afterward and the other involved a casino patron injured when he was removed from the property.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board in February signed off on two complaints against the Donald J. Laughlin Gaming Trust, doing business as the Riverside Resort & Casino, and, separately, against Bob Kingston Productions Inc., doing business as Saddle N Spurs Saloon in Las Vegas.

According to the Laughlin complaint, two incidents, one involving a casino patron and another involving an employee, were unreported by operators of the 1,405-room Riverside resort on the Colorado River.

In one incident that occurred July 5, 2022, casino security officers were called to remove a patron playing slot machines when he refused to leave during an accounting procedure on the machine.

After first questioning his need to leave, the patron and some friends moved to the casino exit. As they arrived at the door, one of the security officer escorts mocked the patron’s accent, according to the complaint. The patron confronted the officer and a physical altercation occurred resulting in the patron being wrestled face first to the ground. The security guard put handcuffs on the patron and he complained of a leg injury and was taken to a hospital.

In a second incident on Aug. 9, 2022, a Riverside employee was escorted to a security office by an officer and was accused of smoking marijuana on the property during his shift. The unnamed employee denied the accusation and a resort human resources official told the security officers to send the employee home pending an investigation. Instead, the security officer told the employee he could take a drug test or immediately resign.

After a verbal exchange, a security guard told the employee he was fired. The employee tried to get up to leave, but two security officers blocked his exit. When he tried to get past the officers to the door, four officers wrestled him to the ground and one punched him five times while he was on the ground, according to the complaint.

On March 27, 2023, Justice Court of Laughlin Township issued arrest warrants for all four security officers, charging them with coercion with physical force, a felony, and false imprisonment, a gross misdemeanor.

In the incident involving Saddle N Spurs, at 2333 N. Jones Blvd., Control Board agents were tipped off by a slot-route operator in May 2023 that the 24-hour bar with 16 or fewer slot machines didn’t appear to have the bankroll to cover slot machine payouts.

The Control Board’s Tax and Licensing Division conducted a compliance review and determined that the property’s bankroll was short by more than $10,000. The investigation also determined that owner Bob Kingston Productions planned to sell the property to Two Brothers Ventures LLC in December 2022 with a first payment of $105,000 due on Jan. 1, 2023.

The Control Board’s complaint recommended Kingston be fined, but the stipulation for settlement said his license to be a sole owner would be revoked. He surrendered his license and will not be able to reapply for at least five years and if he does, would have to successfully complete a regulatory compliance program within six months and hire a registered gaming attorney or representative before applying.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.