Boyd’s Fremont Casino in Vegas Faces Regulatory Trouble Over Arrested Customer

Downtown Las Vegas Fremont Casino is facing a four-count complaint from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGBC) for a patron incident in November. The regulator filed September 16 through the Attorney General’s Office a complaint against Boyd Gaming Corp, alleging unsuitable operations and violations of Regulation 5, damaging the state’s reputation.

Acting Without Verifying

Just after midnight November 24, a female patron of the casino was being detained for 90 min for something she did not do and investigation into the incident showed “the manner in which the security officers handled the arrest was unreasonable given the circumstances.” The woman was grabbed, put in handcuffs, and taken to a holding room while waiting for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police to arrive at the site.

The incident involved two women who were playing separately on slot machines, and one of them decided to cash out and received a ticket. That same woman accused the other of playing the same machine after her with the remaining credit of $20. She told a casino security officer her story and the officer elected to act, instead of verifying the incident through the camera footage first.

Surveillance Footage Revealed Woman Was Innocent

When the footage was finally looked at, it turned out the purported action was never done and the woman was detained for nothing and remained handcuffed for nearly an hour and a half.

“Under the circumstances, there was no need to detain the patron or subject her to the treatment given to her and the threats to try and force a confession out of her. The matter could have been resolved without even speaking to her, let alone detaining her for 90 minutes.”

NGBC complaint

Boyd Gaming self-reported the incident stating that a casino patron was mistakenly accused of theft and detained by security personnel, and 9 days after the incident NGBC’s agents followed up on the investigation and returned to Fremont Casino to obtain statements from the security officers.

NGBC’s Own Investigation

It was then when the board agents realized there were contradictions between camera footage and security personnel statements. Moreover, casino security officers behaved in an evasive manner in their answers.

“The board’s investigation revealed that Fremont did not seem to realize the full scope of the mistakes made by its employees that resulted in the wrongful detention of the patron, the wrongful taking of funds from an innocent patron or the sharing of incorrect information to the investigating officer of Metro and the board.”

NGBC complaint

Following the complaint from the NGCB, the Nevada Gaming Commission will consider what disciplinary action against the gaming property for the incident needs to be taken. The regulator could impose a hefty financial sanction, or even suspend or revoke Fremont Casino’s license.