Planet Hollywood agrees to pay $500,000 fine in NV

LAS VEGAS - Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino has agreed to pay a $500,000 fine to Nevada gambling regulators over lax policing of illegal activity inside an independently operated nightclub at the resort.

In a settlement with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Planet Hollywood agreed to pay another $250,000 in a year if changes are not made in the operation of the nightclub, which leases space in the resort. If no additional complaints are filed by then, the $250,000 payment will be waived.

Planet Hollywood is the first resort to acknowledge it was at fault for problems inside a nightclub that it doesn't own: the Prive.

State gambling regulators have prodded the resort industry to better control the actions of such nightclubs.

"We didn't execute proper supervision and we're the message being sent to the rest of the industry," Frank Schreck, Planet Hollywood's lawyer, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The Nevada Gaming Commission is scheduled to vote on the settlement July 23.

"Planet Hollywood took this matter seriously," Gaming Control Board member Randy Sayre said. "Sadly, they should have addressed some of these events sooner."

Among other things, Prive employees were accused of removing drunk customers and dumping them in the casino unattended, and of physically and sexually assaulting customers.

The Prive also was accused of admitting minors and hiring people with criminal records.

The Gaming Control Board also charged that prostitution increased around the club and nothing was done to discourage the activity.

Several hotel-casinos are under investigation over activities inside their nightclubs and other venues, Sayre said.

Schreck said the lease between Planet Hollywood and Prive has been rewritten. Unlike in the past, Planet Hollywood security officers now can enter the nightclub without a club employee.

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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com

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