Mount Airy Casino Resort Lawsuit Class Grows to 75 Plaintiffs

Posted on: April 14, 2025, 04:13h. 

Last updated on: April 14, 2025, 04:13h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

• Mount Airy Casino Resort is accused of underpaying table game dealers
• 75 dealers have joined the proposed class action lawsuit
• The casino has yet to respond to the federal lawsuit

The proposed federal class action lawsuit against Mount Airy Casino Resort has grown to 75 plaintiffs who claim they’ve been underpaid by the gaming facility located in the Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains.

Giada Grossi, a table game dealer at Mount Airy, was recognized as the 75th plaintiff in the case filed in February in Pennsylvania’s Middle District Court. Grossi and the 74 other members of the class are seeking unpaid wages and/over overtime compensation.

The lawsuit additionally contends that Mount Airy allowed non-tipped managers and supervisors to partake in tip pooling that dealers are mandated to participate in. The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and at least $5 million in damages exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees, and court costs.

Mount Airy Response Forthcoming

Mount Airy #1, LLC, the parent organization of the casino, has not yet responded to the litigation. On March 7, United States District Judge Joseph Saporito granted an extension request from the casino. Mount Airy is now due to submit its response to the court on or before April 28, 2025.

As Casino.org previously reported, the lawsuit claims Mount Airy took a tip credit as allowed under FSLA. The tip credit provided Mount Airy with tax savings, but the casino is alleged to have failed to notify impacted table game dealers.

An employer may, in certain circumstances, take a ‘tip credit’ toward its minimum wage obligations for tipped employees. Pursuant to the explicit language of the FLSA, a tip credit may not be taken ‘with respect to any tipped employee unless such employee has been informed by the employer of the provisions, and all tips received by such employee have been retained by the employee, except that this subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the pooling of tips among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips,” the complaint details.

The claim also alleges that Mount Airy forced dealers to share their tips through pooling with non-tipped managers and supervisors. The lawsuit says “dual rate” employees, or workers who at times work as dealers and at other times as supervisors and floor managers, wrongly took a cut of the pool while not functioning as a dealer.

The lawsuit additionally asserts that Mount Airy #1 “used a timeclock rounding policy” that resulted in the company failing to properly compensate employees “for all time worked.” The complaint says the casino also miscalculated overtime pay rates because of the tip credit notification failure.

‘Willful’ Violations 

The attorneys representing the proposed class say Mount Airy’s “systemic violation of federal and state wage laws was willful.”

Saporito was appointed to the federal court by President Joe Biden in 2024 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 31 of that year. Pennsylvania’s Middle District Court is in Harrisburg.