Parx Casino Eatery Fined $17K for Allegedly Serving Drinks to Intoxicated Patrons

Posted on: June 16, 2022, 08:40h. 

Last updated on: June 17, 2022, 11:26h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Chickie’s & Pete’s was fined $17,500 for providing drinks to six “visibly” intoxicated patrons at the Parx Casino venue, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) announced on Wednesday. One of the restaurant’s customers in 2021 allegedly consumed 14 drinks, made up of six beers and eight shots, in a little over three hours.

The bar at Chickie’s & Pete’s Parx Casino location
The bar at Chickie’s & Pete’s Parx Casino location, pictured above. The Pennsylvania restaurant was recently fined. (Image: Parx Casino)

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the Bensalem, Pa. restaurant sold the drinks to intoxicated guests on a total of three instances. One was given two beers and two shots in a half hour during 2020, the report said.

Casino security reviewed surveillance video and presented their findings to the PGCB. The enforcement action was the first time the PGCB fined a business at the casino instead of the gaming venue, David S. Tepper, a board attorney, told the Inquirer.

This was the first such fine for the Chickie’s & Pete’s location. But in 2017 and 2018, it was warned in writing for serving alcohol to intoxicated customers, the report said. One was allegedly served 28 drinks over about eight hours. Earlier, between 2015 and 2017, four incidents were highlighted by the PGCB, the report adds. None of those incidents led to board action.

More Training Promised

Under a consent agreement, Chickie’s & Pete’s said it would do more to train its workers on when to serve alcohol to customers, the Inquirer said.

We take our responsibility as the licensee very seriously,” Lawrence S. Rosenwald, an attorney for Chickie’s & Pete’s, was quoted by the newspaper. “We will continue to monitor all aspects of our operation, so … we can identify other ways to reduce the possibility of events like this from happening in the future.”

The restaurant is operated by an entity called CDC Bucks County, the PGCB said in a statement. Chickie’s & Pete’s has 18 locations. One of the crab house and sports bar locations is in Las Vegas, and another is in Atlantic City.

Prior Parx Casino Fine

Previously, in 2021, Parx Casino had to pay a $5,000 fine imposed by the PGCB for a testing violation.

The incident took place on July 12, 2019, when a Game Account Network worker tested two online slot machine games. The employee got them to go live on Parx’s online gaming platform before Parx had gotten PGCG approval to offer the games. Back then, it only had been allowed to offer online sports betting.

The games were live for about 16 minutes. Two players took advantage of the games and made nearly 500 wagers, the board said.

Also on Wednesday, Stadium Casino Westmoreland was fined $7,500 by the PGCB after a self-excluded player gambled at table games. The gambler also got a cash advance at its Live! Pittsburgh Casino, the PGCB said. Self-excluded players must not be able to gamble, nor can they be given cash advances, the board explained in a statement.