Bobby Soper, the embattled former chief executive of Mohegan Sun, was fined $60,000 by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday for failing to fully disclose business interests related to Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre.
“The fine against Mr. Soper stemmed from his failure to properly disclose on his key employee and principal license renewal forms his ownership interests in 10 companies including two, Drinkholder and ReferLocal, which did business directly with Mohegan Sun Pocono,” the PGCB wrote in an enforcement notice.
Soper headed the casino from 2005, when it was acquired by Mohegan Sun from Penn National Gaming for $280 million, until 2012. He then served as CEO of Mohegan Sun from 2015 until February 2017 before resigning amid probes by the PGCB, though he insisted he was not involved in any irregularities and that he was transitioning to a “new challenge.”
In remarks to local press, Soper said the incident was an “unintentional, administrative, clerical mistake,” and said he would fully comply with the fine.
The incident is the latest in a string of investigations and enforcement actions by the PGCB against Mohegan Sun Pocono.
In February, the company filed statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission citing “possible operational control deficiencies” at Mohegan Sun Pocono, noting that the PCGB was investigating a “system of tracking and reporting the issuance of certain customer incentives such as free slot play” in light of a 2016 internal theft scandal that cost the property nearly $500,000 through the use of free slot play.
The filing anticipated “that Mohegan Sun Pocono will be subject to disciplinary action, including a fine and undertakings to remediate the issues identified.”
In March, it was fined $70,000 for five separate incidents of underage gamblers entering the premises. In 2013, it was fined $125,000 for destroying documents before they could be reviewed by state auditors and for discrepancies in slot machine settings reported to the state.
