Mt. Airy Casino Resort Closes Due to Power Outage and Reopens Under Watchful Eye of the PA Gaming Control Board
June 15 2008 - 4:15PM
PR Newswire (US)
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Mount Airy Casino Resort
reopened for business today after a severe thunderstorm Saturday
evening interrupted power to the non-casino areas of the facility
and led to the evacuation of the entire facility including the
casino floor. Paul Resch, Acting Director of Gaming Operations for
the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, said the power outage
occurred at 6 p.m. Saturday and the facility continued to operate
on backup power for several hours until it was determined that
insufficient electricity was available for the non-casino areas.
Mount Airy staff in consultation with the Board decided to evacuate
approximately 800 patrons from the casino around 9:30 p.m. Saturday
in the interest of safety. Throughout the closure, power continued
uninterrupted to the gaming floor, the surveillance system and the
state's Central Control Computer System. The facility reopened at
12 p.m. Sunday when electricity was restored. "Gaming Control Board
staff remained onsite at Mount Airy throughout the temporary
closure and we approved the reopening only after ensuring
connectivity between the slot machines and the Central Control
Computer System that links all slot machines and monitors revenue,"
Resch said. During the closure, Resch said that additional Mount
Airy security personnel, along with the Pennsylvania State Police,
were onsite to maintain a perimeter to prevent patrons from
accessing the facility. Acting Executive Director Frank T. Donaghue
said Gaming Control Board staff were vigilant throughout the
temporary closure to assure that the interests of Commonwealth,
Mount Airy, and the safety of employees and the patrons were
monitored. "As in other situations that have arisen where a casino
faced a temporary emergency shutdown, cooperation existed between
the Board staff, the State Police, the employees and management of
the casino operator, and the Department of Revenue," Donaghue said.
"While it was unfortunate that this circumstance occurred,
Pennsylvanians can be assured that everyone acted in the best
interest of caution to assure public safety and work to get the
casino back open as quickly as possible." For more information
about the PA Gaming Control Board, you can visit its website at
http://www.pgcb.state.pa.us/. CONTACT Doug Harbach or Richard
McGarvey (717) 346-8321 DATASOURCE: Pennsylvania Gaming Control
Board CONTACT: Doug Harbach, or Richard McGarvey, +1-717-346-8321
Web site: http://www.pgcb.state.pa.us/
Copyright