Mt. Airy Casino Resort Closes Due to Power Outage and Reopens Under Watchful Eye of the PA Gaming Control Board
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 states 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."
2008-06-24
