In August, the gaming board proposed a $2 million fine against Rivers, though the regulators didn’t directly take the casino to task for hiring United.
The gaming board started a probe, which was later combined with another investigation into problems with patron promotions at Rivers. Rivers officials said at the time they hadn’t known about Simon’s background – even though it had been documented for years in news reports – and then notified the gaming board about United’s work for Rivers. The gaming board, which regulates casinos and video gaming in Illinois, can penalize gaming license holders for anything that “would discredit or tend to discredit the Illinois Gaming industry,” including “employing persons of notorious or unsavory reputation,” according to state rules. The BGA asked Rivers officials last May about United’s hiring because Illinois casinos are not supposed to have even a hint of organized crime connections – something that helped sink Rosemont’s years-long push to score a gaming license.
