Underage blackjack
Underage blackjack

Atlantic City’s Showboat Casino was fined twenty thousand dollars after allowing customers under the age of 21 to play at their blackjack tables.

The Showboat is a Mardi-Gras themed casino in Atlantic City, owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment (previously known as Harrah’s Entertainment). This 12,000 square meter (130,000 square foot) casino houses more than 2,600 slot machines, 80 table games, 1300 hotel rooms and 10 restaurants.

The showboat made American casino news this week when they were hit with a $20,000 fine on Wednesday for two counts of underage gambling. American gambling laws clearly state that casino patrons must be 21 years or older to gamble. The Showboat, however, allowed several under-21s to place bets on their games.

The first case involved three people between the ages of 16 and 20 who were allowed to buy poker chips on September 15, 2009. One was even able to play two hands before they were found out. The second case happened just five days later, when a 19 year old played blackjack card games for an hour before a cocktail waitress checked his ID.

The casino is also facing penalties for allowing three gamblers whose names are on the New Jersey self-exclusion list to place bets at the casino. A total of $2,315 in winnings were seized from these players by the casino once it was discovered that they should not be gambling, but those winnings have now been forfeited to the state.

This is the second case this year of an Atlantic City casino busted for underage blackjack. In September, Borgata Casino faced $40,000 in fines for similar offenses.