Harold Holder Also Owned Sharkey’s Casino until Recent Months
Harold Holder, the owner of a pair of Nevada casinos, will have to surrender his license to operate the casinos. Holder’s casinos are alleged to have kept less han the required bankroll on the premises. The Gaming Control Board fines gaming venues which hold less than the required capital to cover bets. If they repeat the offense, they can have their license stripped.
The violations are said to have occurred at the Winnemucca Casino. He also owns the Sundance Casino in Winnemucca, a rural area in the northern part of the state. Not long ago, Mr. Holder owned Sharkey’s Casino, but that establishment is now under new ownership.
Loses Sundance on October 29
According to his agreement with the Gaming Control Board, Harold Holder is going to be allowed to operate the Sundance Casino until October 29. At that time, he’ll surrender his license for that casino, as well. In addition to being stripped of the license, he must pay a fine of $12,029.
The agreement also allows the Winnemucca Casino to remain open until February 16, provided Holder can find a buyer. The buyer will have to apply for a license to qualify under the existing agreement.
Faulty Rewards System
One additional reason given for the loss of license was the operation of a faulty rewards system. Players who maintained a player card were included in a rewards program which offered cashback rewards. When the rewards program’s database went down in September 2014, the information was not backed up and the players lost their rewards points.
Family Legacy in Gambling
Harold Holder Jr. took over the family business in 2007, when his father retired at the age of 75. At the time, the senior Harold Holder held the license to run the national lottery of Ghana for at least one year, and was planning to build a $15 million casino on the coast of Ghana. When he retired, the elder Harold Holder was seeking to sell 15 casinos he owned for a total of $200 million.
The younger Holder, who is now reliquishing his license, was closely involved in the Ghanaian gaming deals. He also sought to build “Central American and Caribbean casinos”, according to a 2007 story in the Wendover Times.
Bought Casinos in 2009
It was the next year, 2009, when Harold Holder Jr. gained a gaming license in Nevada. At the time, he was seeking to build a casino in Carlin, Nevada. Eventually, he bought the Winnemucca, Sundance, and Sharkey’s Casino. Only a year ago, he was welcoming California Chrome’s owner, Steve Coburn, to Sharkey’s to celebrate the winning of the second leg of the Triple Crown.
California Chrome would fail to win the Belmont Stakes, but it was a signal moment for the Coburns and for Harold Holder, who received media coverage for his celebration. Only months later would the rewards program database fiasco happen. The resulting scrutiny is what led to the loss of his gaming license.
The Future of Holder Holdings
It sounds like Harold Holder should be able to continue in the gambling business, though he might have to pursue the overseas ventures as a key area of interest now. Who can say what budgetary issues might cause a casino owner not to keep enough money in the vault to cover bets, but that is a serious issue for the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Casinos need to instill trust in their players, somewhat the way a bank needs to instill trust in its customers.
If a gambler wants to cash out and the money doesn’t exist to pay the winnings, it not only undermines trust in the system, but can lead to serious situations. Gaming officials take every measure to assure no situations like that arise, which is why an operator who does not follow the system must be banned.
Over the next 30 to 60 days, news should emerge of interested buyers in Sundance and Winnemucca. A gaming license is a “license to print money” in most cases. Owning a legal casino is much the same way, even if it is a rural casino far away from the glint of the Las Vegas Strip.
