By james art 
Posted: November 5, 2024, 11:47 am
Last updated on: November 5, 2024, 12:19 p.m.
Grand Sierra Resort in Reno has agreed to pay the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) a quarter of a million dollars to settle a regulatory complaint stemming from an incident last year.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) filed a complaint against MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC, doing business as Grand Sierra Resort, after one of its agents reported being denied fast-track access to the property’s Grand Theater during a routine checking.
Michael Somps, a senior deputy attorney general in the Nevada attorney general’s office who represented the state in the matter, told NGC that an agent from the Division of Gaming Control arrived at the Reno casino on Dec. 19, 2023. During checking the agent, casino security approached the agent after bypassing a metal detector outside the theater entrance.
Casino security told the agent, who had his NGCB badge and credentials, to surrender his firearm before entering the theater. After about six minutes, resort officials informed security officials that the gambling agent could enter the theater with his weapon.
A rare occurrence
All businesses licensed by NGC are subject to routine inspections. State gambling agents must have immediate and complete access to “all parts of the premises,” with premises defined as “curb to curb,” Somps said.
The Senior Deputy Attorney General explained that gaming agents inspect areas outside the casino floor to ensure there is no illegal gambling or other illegal activity in the licensed gaming facility.
While a short access delay is sometimes common, a six-minute delay, which the agent disputed and said was longer, was an aberration, according to Somps. Coupled with a similar incident in 2021, when a third-party security guard hired by Grand Sierra blocked a gaming agent’s immediate access until he was defrauded, Somps said a $250K penalty against the resort was warranted.
Licensees have a long history of compliance and giving agents of the Board immediate access to all parts of the premises. The Board takes the Grand Sierra Resort violation seriously and asserts that the licensees and their employees understand that any Board agent will be given immediate access to any part of the gaming establishment’s premises upon presenting their credentials,” Somps said. .
Meruelo Group, the parent owner of Grand Sierra Resort, controlled by billionaire Alex Meruelo, did not contest the fine, agreeing to settle the appeal.
The $250,000 fine comes just days after Meruelo’s Grand Sierra donated $15,000 to both Robert Mitchell Elementary School and Vaughn Middle School, both of which are part of the Washoe County School District.
Where does the money go?
The NGC and NGCB are responsible for the strict regulation of all persons, locations, practices and activities related to the state gaming industry. The Nevada Gaming Act allows the NGC to impose fines on licensees found to be in violation of its provisions.
Fines received by the state gambling agency go into the Nevada General Fund. The $250K fine against Grand Sierra slightly offset another ruling handed down Monday that determined Nevada Restaurant Services Inc., the parent of Dotty’s Gaming Taverns, owed a $3 million tax refund.