Carson City tavern faces $10,000 or more fine for twice failing to adhere to COVID regulations
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Wed, 08/25/2021 - 10:17am
A second complaint was filed against Bette Larsen, owner of Timbers Saloon in Carson City, by the Nevada Gaming Control Board earlier this month.
The complaint alleges that, for the second time, Larsen has failed to adhere to health mandates by requiring that patrons and employees wear face coverings and adhere to social distancing, as stipulated by the gaming board.
Larsen has held a gaming license since 1991 for Timbers, according to the complaint, and therefore falls under the jurisdiction of the Nevada Gaming Control Act and must comply with the Gaming Control Board’s regulations.
According to NRS 463.0129, the gaming board has the full authority to fine any licensed individual who goes against the regulations of the board.
According to the complaint, on May 5, 2021 the board received a complaint that both employees and patrons at Timbers were not wearing face coverings and were not practicing social distancing, despite an ongoing mandate that both needed to be observed by gaming establishments.
During an inspection that same night, a board agent observed between 20 to 30 patrons inside the bar who were not wearing face coverings and were not practicing social distancing. The agent also noted there were three employees behind the bar who were not wearing face coverings.
When the board agent went to take pictures, one of the employees behind the bar covered his mouth and nose with his face covering, according to the complaint.
On May 10, a board agent contacted Larsen and informed her of the violations.
This was the second complaint Larsen faced for Timbers. The first was filed in October of 2020, when it was alleged that a bartender and patrons at Timbers were not wearing face coverings or practicing social distancing, during a time when both were required by mandate.
In November 2020, the commission accepted a settlement for the October 2020 compliant as Larsen agreed to pay a fine in the amount of $5,000, and agreed to a condition requiring a key employee application filed no later than Jan. 18, 2021.
A key employee application, which would ensure a staff member be responsible for upholding regulations when Larsen was not present, was not filed until Jan. 21. An application for a new restricted gaming license was submitted by a new entity, The Timbers LLC dba Timbers Saloon, for which Larsen currently holds a restricted gaming license.
According to the complaint, during Feb. 2007, Larsen formed The Timbers LLC, and sometime between 2007 and 2018, transferred her licensed gaming operation to The Timbers, LLC. However, the gaming board never approved the transfer, as it never received any applications to do so.
The complaint further alleges that Larsen has filed forms since 2018 that she is the 100 percent owner of Timbers, without any intermediary business entities, which is a violation of regulation.
The Nevada Attorney General’s office has recommended a $10,000 fine for the second offense.
However, Larsen could be facing substantially more fines, as outlined by NRS 463.310(4) which states:
(d) Fine each person or entity, or both, which is licensed, registered, found suitable or found preliminarily suitable pursuant to this chapter or chapter 464 of NRS or which previously obtained approval for any act or transaction for which Commission approval was required or permitted under the provisions of this chapter or chapter 464 of NRS:
Not less than $25,000 and not more than $250,000 for each separate violation of any regulation adopted pursuant to NRS 463.125 which is the subject of an initial or subsequent complaint; or
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (1), not more than $100,000 for each separate violation of the provisions of this chapter or chapter 368A, 464 or 465 of NRS or of any regulations adopted thereunder, which is the subject of an initial complaint and not more than $250,000 for each separate violation of the provisions of this chapter or chapter 368A, 464 or 465 of NRS or of any regulations adopted thereunder, which is the subject of any subsequent complaint.
The full complaint against Larsen and Timbers can be found here: https://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=17970
