Indianapolis, Indiana – Southern Indiana’s Horseshoe Casino Hotel has agreed to pay a USD 59,000 fine and one of its dealers will serve a two-day suspension for unrelated violations of state gambling regulations.

The Harrison County casino, formerly Caesars Indiana, agreed to pay the fine to avoid additional action and penalties on five counts of breaking state rules, including an allegation that a gambler who was forbidden to board the riverboat had wagered there several times.

The Indiana Gaming Commission said the gambler had signed up for the state’s Voluntary Exclusion Program, which requires the person’s agreement not to wager at casinos.

Although Indiana’s casinos are instructed to refuse to allow anyone in the program to gamble, state investigators determined the gambler visited the casino nine times during a two-month period and was provided a free hotel room based on his wagering.

Horseshoe spokeswoman Judy Hess said Friday that casino officials regret the violations and are coaching employees to try to avoid such mistakes in the future. But she said gamblers who sign up for the voluntary exclusion program can sometimes be hard to catch.

Horseshoe’s fine reflected additional allegations that a dealer didn’t properly count cards at the end of the dealer’s shift, that a roulette wheel wasn’t properly locked and that state gaming agents weren’t notified immediately of suspected criminal activity on the casino floor.

The casino also allowed an underage customer on the boat.

In a separate proceeding, a Horseshoe dealer agreed to serve a two-day suspension after investigators accused him of violating state law by having weekly poker games at his home.

Hess said the casino had been unaware of the allegations against the dealer until the commission approved the settlement agreement Thursday. She said company officials plan to investigate.