The Riverside Casino and Golf Resort is having to pay a $10,000 fine because someone wanted a cheap buffet. In August, an individual who had signed up for a self-gambling ban program in 2013 was issued a players club card at the casino. The individual didn’t break the self-imposed gambling ban, but instead used the card to get a discount at the buffet. It’s against the rules set by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to give a players club account to someone with a gambling ban, whether they gamble or not. The casino discovered the issue through an internal audit and reported it to the commission.

This is the third occurrence of a banned person violation in the past year for the Riverside Casino, and fines range from $3,000 for the first offense to $20,000. The commission agreed to a reduced fine for the offense given the circumstances of the violation and the steps the casino took in disciplining the employee responsible. According to Dan Franz, General Manager of the Riverside Casino, they have warning screens that indicate a person should not be issued a players club account, but for unknown reasons the employee running the desk at the time ignored them. The commission felt the casino’s handling of the incident, as well as the current safeguards to prevent this type of thing, were sufficient, and no further action is expected to take place on this matter.