Crime News

Punching Slot Machine Costs Man $1,510, Police Say

New York man celebrating his 63rd birthday at casino destroyed slots video display screen, state police say.

  A Queens, New York man who marked his 63rd birthday over the weekend admitted he punched out a slot machine at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem early Monday, leaving the casino with a $1,510 bill for a replacement video display screen. A criminal complaint filed against the suspect, John Kim of the Woodside section of the borough, does not say what prompted him to allegedly punch the slot machine. It does say that surveillance video shows Kim punching the machine around 12:58 a.m. Surveillance also spotted Kim in the casino parking lot waiting for a departing bus. Police were dispatched around 1:46 a.m. The casino’s security supervisor talked to Kim on the parking lot, where he admitted to punching the machine, according to the …

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Crime News

Finders Keepers, Keeper Arrested at Casino

Souderton man found $1,280 in a Sands jackpot machine and left with the money. Now he faces a theft charge.

  If you find unattended money at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, don’t pick it up—unless you are aiming to end your night in jail. Steven Lynn Harpel, 59, of Souderton is finding this out the hard way. According to Pennsylvania State Police gaming control officers, Harpel stumbled onto $1,280 that had inadvertently been left in a jackpot machine by a casino attendant. Harpel then took the money and left the casino, troopers said. According to the arrest affidavit, the incident, which occurred on April 24, was captured on video and Harpel was identified through his Sands Casino player’s card. State police dispatched Souderton Borough Police officers to find Harpel and ask him to call the investigating state trooper, the affidavit said. …

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Crime News

Casino Cash Cage Supervisor Stole $10K, Police Say

Freemansburg man told state troopers he had been taking a few hundred dollars a day, several times a week, for more than a year, according to court documents.

  A supervisor in the “cage”—the center of cash storage and distribution at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem—is accused of stealing $10,000 from his employer, according to court papers. Jesus Manuel Gonzalez-Torres, 23, of 626A Ramblewood Lane, Freemansburg, admitted to Pennsylvania State Police that he snuck several hundred dollars a day—three or four times a week—out of the cage over the course of 13 months, beginning in March 2012, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The state police Bureau of Gaming Enforcement began its investigation into Gonzalez-Torres on April 15 after casino surveillance personnel reported that he was stealing cash, troopers said. According to the affidavit: Gonzalez-Torres was charged Wednesday with …

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Sands Table Play Up 12.6% as Rest of Pa. Drops

Overall casino revenue, including slots, down at Sands and across Pennsylvania in February, Gaming Control Board says.

Revenue from table games at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem continued to climb in February, even while overall statewide revenue figures declined, according to the monthly report issued Monday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The Sands generated $12 million in gross revenue from table games in February, as opposed to $10.7 million in February 2012, an increase of 12.6 percent. The Sands has led all Pennsylvania casinos in table games play for 14 months running. But coupled with a 7 percent drop in slot machine revenue in February, overall revenue for the month at the South Bethlehem casino declined from $36 million to $35.5 million, or about 1.3 percent. Statewide, table games revenue declined from $56.5 million in February 2012…

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4 New Stores Coming to Shoppes at Sands

A spa, a bakery and cafe and two other stores plan to open at upscale casino mall by summer.

  The Shoppes at Sands upscale mall will be getting two more stores, a bakery and café, and a spa by the summer, according to Sands representatives. There currently are 21 stores inside the upscale shopping center, which opened in November 2011 next door to the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. The Shoppes at Sands are expected to host at least 30 stores when it is fully leased. The Shoppes at Sands are open Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. The shopping center's website features a description of each store and notes special deals and discounts for some of them.

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Sands Casino Fined for Allowing Underage Gamblers

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board issues $68,000 fine to Bethlehem casino for allowing 6 people under age 21 onto the gaming floor. In 5 cases, they also placed bets.

  The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem was fined $68,000 on Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board for allowing underage people access to the gaming floor, according to a gaming board news release. In six separate incidents between August and November, people under the age of 21 were allowed to get onto the casino gaming floor. In all but one case, they also gambled, the board reported. The incidents: This was the third time Sands Bethworks Gaming was fined by the board for underage violations since its last license renewal. Previously the board had fined Sands $48,000 in 2010 for six underage gaming violations and again in 2012 for four underage gaming violations also resulting in a fine of $48,000. The Pennsylvania Race Horse …

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Slots Machine Revenue Declined in February

Every Pennsylvania casino, including Sands, brought in less slots revenue than a year ago. Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board blames leap year for 9 percent drop.

  Slots machine revenue at Pennsylvania casinos declined by more than 9 percent in February as compared to a year ago, the state Gaming Control Board reported on Monday. The board blamed the 28-day month for part of the decline. As 2012 was a leap year, February had 29 days a year ago. The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem posted a 7-percent drop in gross slots machine revenue as opposed to a year ago, pulling in a little more than $23.5 million, a drop of $1.8 million. Statewide, gross revenue from slots was $195.9 million, a drop of nearly $20 million from 2012. Tax revenue from slots play statewide was $105.1 million, the board reported. Every casino in Pennsylvania pulled in fewer dollars, except for the Valley Forge Casino Resort, which …

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Crime News

Man Punches Sands Slot Machine, Police Say

Brooklyn man charged with criminal mischief after he allegedly caused $1,625 in damage to slot machine screen, court papers say.

A New York City man was jailed early Wednesday after police said he smashed the screen on a slot machine at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. Juan Delgado, 56, of Brooklyn, is charged with criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. According to court records, police were called to the casino around 1:11 a.m. Wednesday after security reported that a man had punched the screen on one of the slot machines, causing "significant damage." Security had detained Delgado, who smelled of alcohol and admitted to a state trooper he had punched the machine, police said. Damage was estimated at $1,625. Delgado's bail was considerably higher, set at $10,000 by on-call District Judge Richard Yetter in Wilson. Delgado was unable to pay…

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Crime News

Counterfeit $50 Bills Passed at Sands, Police Say

New Jersey man charged with passing three counterfeit bills at casino over the weekend. Two other men charged with defiant trespass.

  A New Jersey man was charged Saturday with passing three counterfeit $50 bills over a few days at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. Police at the SouthSide venue also dealt with two other criminal cases during the weekend, both involving defiant trespassing charges. In the counterfeit case, Felix Antonio Tovar, 22, of Elizabeth admitted to police he passed three fake $50 bills, one of them at a table game around 5:50am Saturday. A criminal complaint does not say where Tovar may have gotten the bills. The complaint does say that surveillance video showed Tovar passing two other counterfeit $50s while playing table games on previous days. He was arraigned later Saturday by on-duty District Judge Jackie Taschner of Palmer Township on three…

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Sands Casino Smashes Its Table Games Record

Sands Casino brings in $14 million in gross revenue from table games in January, a $4 million increase over a year ago, Gaming Control Board says.

  The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem shattered its previous record for table games play in January, grossing nearly $14 million, according to figures released last week by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Combined with the $22.9 million the Sands grossed from slot machine play, the casino brought in $36.9 million in revenue as opposed to the $32.5 million in revenue the South Bethlehem casino brought in during January 2012. An increase of $4 million in revenue from table games play at the Sands represented a 40 percent increase over a year ago, cementing the Bethlehem casino as the most popular place for table games in Pennsylvania. Statewide, at all 11 Pennsylvania casinos, table games brought in 12 percent more gross revenue than …

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