Reno‘s Peppermill Casino is going to be $1 million lighter in the wallet, after it ‘fessed up to spying on other casinos’ proprietary data. Peppermill 
analyst Ryan Tors was caught at the Grand Sierra using a tool known as a reset key to unlock the secrets of rival casinos’ slot machines. He ” was able to learn certain diagnostic information about the slot machine, such as play history, hold percentages, event logs and game configuration.” Peppermill management has admitted that it condoned and encouraged Tors’ malfeasance, and now will get a spanking.
Tors was lucky. He’d been snooping on competitors’ slots since 2011 and was only busted recently. The key gets its name from its use to reset slot machines following large jackpot payouts. The Peppermill’s skullduggery would be amusing were it not flagrantly unlawful and brazen. That seven-figure fine was well earned.
Dan Gilbert may own the Cleveland Cavaliers but that’s no excuse for 
cavalier extension of credit at his Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati. The joint drew a $75,000 fine after it was discovered to have “failed to collect complete application and credit check information before extending credit to some visitors.” Horseshoe staffers will be required to obtain additional training and General Manager Kevin Kline happily pushed them under the bus, saying, “We are taking the necessary steps to refine our policies and further train our team on these important internal control requirements.” The buck sure doesn’t stop at Kline’s desk.
According to state Sen. James Whelan (D, right), Caesars Entertainment is trying to flip the Atlantic Club Hotel … but with a catch. A deed restriction 
on the sale would strip the property of its gaming entitlement. Whelan told The Press of Atlantic City that Caesars’ gambit “supports his stance that the gambling giant has too much control of the Atlantic City market.” He’s spoken to a realtor who’s fielded multiple offers for the property, Whelan says. Assemblyman Chris Brown (R) backed up Whelan, calling Caesars’ actions “shortsighted and counterproductive. Our mutual goal from Atlantic City should be to maintain an inviting and open market for more investment, no matter what form it take.”
Caesars wasn’t talking about the matter. However, we should have seen this coming when the company bought the Atlantic Club and promptly turned it into an hollow hulk. CEO Gary Loveman can be illogical but not to the point of owning a bunch of empty buildings. Besides, the move had precedent in Caesars sale of the Claridge Hotel sans gaming entitlement last year.
Noting that Caesars has a 38% share of the Atlantic City market, Whelan wrote to the Division of Gaming Enforcement, “Shouldn’t we allow the market to dictate if and when this property could become a casino again, not have Caesars restrict competition? I don’t think you want any company, but particularly a company with this much debt, trying to monopolize Atlantic City.” He’s counting on the “undue economic concentration” cause in casino licensure to stay further growth by Caesars. However, what’s “undue” is governed by a dozen criteria, some of which border on the subjective.
If you think the rhetoric is heated now, just imagine what will happen if Caesars wins the bidding war for Revel Resort.
