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1 MISSOURI GAMING COMMISSION BOARD MEETING
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Taken at:
5 Riverside City Hall
2950 Northwest Vivion Road
6 Riverside, Missouri 64150
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8 At:
10:00 a.m.
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On:
11 September 20, 2006
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A P P E A R A N C E S:
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17 For the Commission:
Noel Shull, Chairman
18 Samuel Hais, Commissioner
Darryl Jones, Commissioner
19 Larry Plunkett, Sr., Commissioner
20 Also Present:
Gene McNary, Executive Director
21 Missouri Gaming Commission
Angie Franks, Missouri Gaming Commission
22 Anna Simbeck, Cross Reporting Service, Inc.
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1 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Good morning, and
2 welcome to the commission meeting. First of all,
3 I would like to have the roll called.
4 (Roll was called. All present.)
5 COMMISSIONER SHULL: And secondly, I would
6 like to welcome every commissioner, Commissioner
7 Plunkett from Wayne County, Missouri, and through
8 his career, he was with the highway patrol and
9 retired, and he's also a former sheriff of this
10 county. And so Commissioner Plunkett, we welcome
11 you.
12 COMMISSIONER PLUNKETT: Thank you, sir.
13 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Any other comments?
14 COMMISSIONER HAIS: I, too, would like to
15 welcome Commissioner Plunkett and I believe he
16 will be a tremendous asset to the team.
17 COMMISSIONER JONES: I join in the statements
18 made by the commissioners, and the commission
19 wishes you well and is very, very happy that you
20 could join us.
21 COMMISSIONER PLUNKETT: Thank you.
22 COMMISSIONER SHULL: The first issue that we
23 have today is licensure, so...
24 MR. MCNARY: Mr. Chairman and Commissioners,
25 I, too, would like to welcome Commissioner
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1 Plunkett.
2 Our first item on the agenda,
3 consideration of the relicensure of a supplier,
4 will be presented by Sergeant Gary Davidson.
5 SERGEANT DAVIDSON: Mr. Chairman,
6 Commissioners, good morning.
7 Background investigations to include
8 criminal history checks and tax reviews of
9 Bally's Gaming, Incorporated, and its respective
10 key persons have been conducted in conjunction
11 with relicensing. The results of the
12 investigations were provided to the gaming
13 commission staff for their review and
14 recommendation. If you have any questions, I'll
15 try to answer them.
16 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Any questions? What's
17 your pleasure? You recommended the license
18 will --
19 MR. MCNARY: Well, Mr. Chairman, the staff
20 finds no reason not to relicense the supplier.
21 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Is there a motion?
22 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Mr. Chairman, I propose
23 that the relicensure motion be approved.
24 COMMISSIONER JONES: I second it.
25 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Further discussion?
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1 Call roll.
2 (Roll was called. All approved.)
3 MS. FRANKS: By your vote, you adopt
4 Resolution No. 06-047.
5 MR. MCNARY: Mr. Chairman, next item is
6 consideration of Level I key person applicant,
7 and that will also be handled by Sergeant
8 Davidson.
9 SERGEANT DAVIDSON: Mr. Chairman and
10 Commissioners, highway patrol and gaming
11 commission investigators conducted background
12 investigations of the following occupational
13 license applicants that included but were not
14 limited to criminal, financial, and general
15 character inquires: John Louis Sower, Jr., who
16 is the Director of Information Technology at
17 Ameristar Casino in Kansas City; Kenneth M.
18 Whale, Senior Vice-President of Gaming, Harrah's
19 Entertainment, Incorporated; Bryan Patrick Watts,
20 Director of Casino Operations, Missouri Gaming
21 Company, doing business as Argosy-Riverside
22 Casino. The results of the investigations were
23 provided to the gaming commission staff for their
24 review and their recommendation.
25 If you have any questions about any of
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1 these three applicants, I'd be happy to try to
2 answer them.
3 COMMISSIONER SHULL: I have no questions.
4 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Are we off the record?
5 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Yes.
6 (A brief discussion was held off the record.)
7 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Mr. Chairman, there is a
8 matter -- and I hope and expect that it is a
9 minor matter -- but I believe after discussion
10 off the record with you, Mr. Chairman, this is
11 more properly done in a closed session, so I'll
12 reserve the right to do so and we'll continue
13 with the Chairman's permission.
14 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Granted.
15 MR. MCNARY: Mr. Chairman, then -- as far as
16 the staff investigation is concerned, we find no
17 reason not to approve the applicants. But if
18 there's further discussion, then perhaps action
19 should be deferred.
20 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Well, if -- pardon me,
21 Mr. Chairman. If we defer, I would just ask that
22 we defer only to the -- only to the -- as far as
23 the closed sessions go. I don't we anything
24 further that.
25 MR. MCNARY: Then we find no reason not to
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1 approve the application.
2 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Further discussion?
3 COMMISSION JONES: I have just one more about
4 Mr. Sowers. He will not have to come back for a
5 new license after the two months -- after a --
6 what is it? October 31st. He will not have to
7 come before the commission, and will just
8 automatically be renewed; is that correct?
9 MR. MCNARY: I think that's correct.
10 MR. GREENO: Mr. Chairman, Commissioners,
11 Commissioner Jones, the license expiration date
12 reflected on Mr. Sowers, 10/31/06 -- Mr. Sowers
13 is presently a Level I licensee. His present
14 Level I license will expire 10/31/06. This will
15 be authorizing renewal of the license until
16 10/31/07. Just that the -- the commission
17 resolution before you dated 9/20 of '06 gives
18 authority to renew his license.
19 COMMISSIONER JONES: Without coming before us
20 again?
21 MR. GREENO: Yes.
22 COMMISSIONER SHULL: They are attempting to
23 have these come due on their birthday, and doing
24 so throughout the year. I believe that's the
25 reason for the short period; is that correct?
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1 MR. GREENO: Yes. To my understanding,
2 that's correct.
3 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Is there a motion to be
4 approved, Mr. Chairman?
5 COMMISSIONER SHULL: I need one.
6 COMMISSIONER HAIS: I make a motion to
7 approve the -- to approve the application of
8 Mr. Sowers subject, of course, to the discussion,
9 which I -- which we previously held off the
10 record, and which I only intend for clarification
11 purposes in the closed meeting.
12 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Now will this also be
13 for the entire --
14 COMMISSIONER HAIS: No.
15 COMMISSIONER SHULL: -- group?
16 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Just for Mr. Sowers.
17 MR. MCNARY: Mr. Chairman --
18 COMMISSIONER SHULL: I -- excuse me.
19 MR. MCNARY: May I suggest, we need to do
20 these, at your pleasure, at the same time and the
21 resolution motion needs to address the
22 resolution.
23 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Then I move that
24 Resolution No. 06-048 be approved.
25 COMMISSIONER JONES: I second.
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1 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Further discussion?
2 Call roll.
3 (Roll was called. All approved.)
4 MS. FRANKS: By your vote, you adopt
5 Resolution No. 06-048.
6 MR. MCNARY: Mr. Chairman, Item 4 on the
7 agenda, consideration of disciplinary actions,
8 will be handled by Mr. Mike Bushman.
9 MR. BUSHMAN: Good morning, Commissioners.
10 The disciplinary action that I have before you
11 today is against Ameristar Casino-St. Charles,
12 Inc. And that's DC-06-213. This is a failure to
13 report.
14 The preliminary order for discipline
15 alleges that on May 13th, 2006, at about 2:10 in
16 the morning, a dealer who was dealing craps
17 suspected that one of the patrons at his table
18 had capped the bet. And capping the bet means
19 that you add to your bet after the outcome of the
20 game has already been determined, and that's a
21 felony in Missouri.
22 So the surveillance department was
23 notified and tried to go back and look at the
24 videotape and see if this event actually had
25 occurred. And the surveillance department did
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1 confirm that the patron capped the bet. So the
2 table game supervisors were notified and the
3 information about the incident kind of worked its
4 way up the chain of supervisors and eventually
5 the shift manager went to talk to the patron,
6 discuss the matter with him, and ultimately ask
7 him to pay the money back that he received
8 inappropriately. After that conversation had
9 occurred, then a friend of the patron repaid the
10 casino the money and they were asked to leave the
11 casino by the shift manager.
12 Now during all this period of time this
13 was going on, the commission had not been
14 notified that a crime had been committed on the
15 premises. In fact, it wasn't until 45 to 50
16 minutes later after the incident had occurred and
17 after the patron had already left the property,
18 that the commission was notified that this
19 incident had occurred.
20 One of the commission rules requires
21 that a licensee must promptly notify the
22 commission if they know or have reason to know
23 that a crime or violation of rules has been
24 committed. And the staff believes, in this case,
25 the company failed to meet that prompt
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1 notification requirement.
2 There have been some previous cases in
3 the past involving very similar circumstances to
4 this, where the patron of the -- excuse me, the
5 company failed to notify the commission that
6 capping a bet had occurred. Back in 2002, there
7 was a case where the company was fined $15,000
8 for failing to report within a 30- to 45-minute
9 time period. Back in 2006, another company was
10 fined $20,000 for failing to report a capping
11 incident where that had occurred two hours
12 previously. Since this case was -- the facts of
13 the case were very similar to that earlier
14 incident of a $15,000 fine, the staff is
15 recommending a fine in this case of $15,000
16 against the Ameristar Casino-St. Charles.
17 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Mr. Bushman, was the 2002
18 incident the same company?
19 MR. BUSHMAN: No, sir, that was Isle of
20 Capri-Kansas City, Missouri. There were no
21 previous fail-to-report cases against the
22 Ameristar of St. Charles.
23 COMMISSIONER JONES: Mr. Bushman, so am I to
24 understand that -- and I know they violated the
25 statute on this -- if they ascertained -- or no,
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1 if they suspect a capping or a violation of the
2 statutes has been committed, they should
3 immediately notify the commission or should they
4 run it up the chain first before they have an
5 accurate account of what happened?
6 MR. BUSHMAN: The rules state that the
7 licensee has an obligation to report once they
8 have reasonable grounds to believe a violation
9 has occurred. And in this case the surveillance
10 department confirmed the violation.
11 COMMISSIONER JONES: Right. Once the shift
12 manager -- the shift manager before confronting
13 the patron should have notified -- once they have
14 gotten all the facts, should have notified the
15 commission then?
16 MR. BUSHMAN: Either that shift manager or
17 one of the previous supervisors that received
18 that information.
19 COMMISSIONER JONES: Okay.
20 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Was the patron
21 subsequently charged with a felony?
22 MR. BUSHMAN: I don't know what happened
23 after the -- I think he was brought back in and
24 questioned. And he was released pending a
25 warrant application according to the incident
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1 report.
2 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Further questions? Is
3 there a motion?
4 COMMISSIONER JONES: I move to adopt Section
5 DC-06-213.
6 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Second.
7 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Further discussion?
8 Call roll, please.
9 (Roll was called. All approved.)
10 MS. FRANKS: By your vote, you adopt DC-06-
11 213.
12 COMMISSIONER SHULL: I believe that concludes
13 the open session business. Do we have a motion
14 to go into closed session?
15 COMMISSIONER HAIS: I move to go into closed
16 session.
17 MR. MCNARY: Mr. Chairman, I haven't done
18 this before, but if I could have one -- make one
19 comment before you close the open session. I'd
20 like to, for the record, to show we appreciate
21 the City of Riverside making these facilities
22 available to us. They are outstanding, and we
23 appreciate their accommodation.
24 COMMISSIONER SHULL: They certainly are.
25 COMMISSIONER HAIS: I concur. Thank you.
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1 COMMISSIONER JONES: Mr. Chairman, I move to
2 close this meeting to discuss and consider the
3 following personnel matters under State Statute
4 610.021(3)(4), and investigatory records,
5 information, and summaries under State Statute
6 610.021(14).
7 COMMISSIONER HAIS: Second.
8 COMMISSIONER SHULL: Further discussion?
9 Call roll.
10 (Roll was call. All approved.)
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1 C E R T I F I C A T E
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3 I, Anna Simbeck, Certified Court Reporter, do
4 hereby certify that I appeared at the time and place
5 hereinbefore set forth; I took down in shorthand the
6 entire proceedings had at said time and place, and the
7 foregoing 13 pages constitute a true, correct and
8 complete transcript of my said shorthand notes.
9 Certified to this ______ day of September, 2006.
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16 ____________________________________
Anna Simbeck, CCR
17 Certified Court Reporter No. 1174 (t)
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