The largest such forfeitures came from Resorts, which turned over more than $51,000 for incidents dating back as far as 2020. The forfeitures were ordered by the state during the last two weeks of October, but details were not released until Tuesday. Other cases involved money won by people who had placed themselves on New Jersey’s casino self-exclusion list, under which casinos are supposed to make sure they don’t gamble, but then gambled anyway. The opening lines of 'Atlantic City' refer to the then-recent Mafia violence in nearby Philadelphia, with Springsteen singing: 'Well, they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night/Now they blew up his house too.' The 'Chicken Man' refers to Philadelphia crime family boss Phil 'the Chicken Man' Testa, who was killed by a rival gangster who. That time period, at least six months, has now expired and the gamblers are considered to be prohibited patrons, according to the state Division of Gaming Enforcement. The casinos then withheld the patrons’ winnings, placing them in an escrow account to give them time to prove they had gambled legally. Most of the cases involved patrons who were either asked to provide identification when claiming a manual payout from slot machines or other games, and were either found to be underage or to have produced inadequate identification. The forfeited money will go to the state to be used for programs to treat compulsive gambling, as well as on programs benefiting senior citizens and those with disabilities.
