Mohegan Gaming CEO Ray Pineault apologized to Nevada gaming regulators Wednesday and accepted “full responsibility” after the company’s casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas was hit with a five-count complaint for violating state-mandated COVID-19 capacity guidelines during the casino’s March 25 opening night festivities.
In a stipulated settlement filed with the Nevada Gaming Commission last month, Connecticut-based Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment agreed to pay a $60,000 fine. Gaming commissioners will rule on the settlement on June 24.
“People got a little exuberant and were caught up in the celebration,” Pineault said after a brief hearing in front of the Gaming Control Board in Las Vegas.
The board gave Pineault tentative approval as an officer for the business arm of Connecticut’s Mohegan Indian Tribe, which was the scheduled matter. Prior to doing so, regulators asked pointed questions about the casino’s opening night activities.
“There is no excuse, and we understand the concerns,” Pineault said. “We hope the commission will accept our settlement agreement.”
At the time of Mohegan Sun’s opening in Las Vegas, the state’s gaming industry was operating under 35 percent capacity limitations, requiring social distancing on the gaming floor and requiring all customers and employees to wear facial coverings.
In the complaint, the Gaming Control Board cited photos that appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and on the Virgin Hotel’s Twitter account showing reality television celebrities who were hired by the property to appear on opening night playing table games without wearing facial coverings and surrounded by crowds of onlookers who were not socially distanced.
One photo showed a contingent of customers, not socially distanced, walking through the resort, with the caption, “The crowd continues to get larger and flows about the casino floor.”
Pineault termed the opening night “a lapse of judgement. Nothing is more important to us…