Crown Casino Fined for Bad Cards

In late September, the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation (VCGR) fined Crown Melbourne Limited, operator of the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, a total of $35,000 for six separate violations of the Casino Control Act. 

The violations occurred between September 2006 and February 2007.  The first three were in September, November, and December in games of Texas Hold’em Poker (presumed to be the pit game, not actual hold’em that would be dealt in the poker room).  On these three occasions, the casino was found to have been using a “short deck,” or a deck of cards that was incomplete.  For these violations, a total fine of $15,000 was assessed. 

In November 2006, an extra card was found in the eight deck shoe at a pontoon table, resulting in a $7,500 fine. 

Another $5,000 fine was levied for a December 2006 short deck in at a blackjack table. 

Finally, an incorrect set of tiles was found in a February pai gow game.  Crown was hit for $7,500 for this violation. 

All of the above violated section 60(3) of the Casino Control Act 1991, which states that a casino game cannot be run if it does not adhere to the approved rules of that game. 

It is unknown if these errors were made purposely or if they helped or hurt the players in the game, but Crown is getting the benefit of the doubt.  "The fact of the matter is that at Crown we would deal literally millions of gaming hands throughout the year," said Crown spokesman Gary O'Neill.  “On each and every one of these occasions, the error was detected by Crown's supervisory staff and reported to the VCGR.”