Business Owner Banned From N.J. Boardwalk Over Alleged Rigged Games
A Jersey Shore boardwalk amusement operator has been accused by state authorities of rigging basketball games. In order to make sure customers would not win, they suggest that the operator was using overinflated balls.
Owner Christine Strothers has been banned from the business for 10 years and fined $15,500 for violating New Jersey’s boardwalk licensing law, N.J. Advance Media reports.
“Every person who plays an amusement game in the State of New Jersey deserves a fair shot at winning a prize,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Wednesday (Feb. 15) in a statement announcing the ban.
“The Jersey Shore is one of the biggest draws in the State for families looking for fun and recreation and we are making sure those families are not being scammed out of their hard-earned money.”
Strothers held seven licenses in Wildwood and North Wildwood to run basketball and other games.
In the 11-page document, investigators found basketballs inflated to as much as 19 pounds per square inch or PSI. For the basketballs used for the game, the manufacturer recommends nine PSI max.
Strothers also had “phantom prizes,” prizes that were displayed as potential winnings for customers but were never actually an option. The phantom prizes were “large plush animals” but not labeled as items that could not be collected as prizes.
Strothers did not appear at their hearing on her case. Per the document, the commission voted to enter a default against her.