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The Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel in Kentucky was evacuated on Wednesday due to a bomb threat, which turned out to be a false alarm. The casino is just across the street from the OG Clubhouse, a popular poker room for Kentucky locals.
Oak Grove Police Department received a call around 5 p.m. regarding a person claiming to have hostages in the building.
Following a search with specially trained canine units, it was deemed that the area was secured and no bomb materials — or hostages — were found on the premises.
As such, the casino was closed for the evening and reopened the next day, but the investigation is currently ongoing.
Despite offering live music and shows, horse racing, a gaming floor with 1,200 historical racing machines, and various bars and lounges, there is no poker offered at Oak Grove itself. However, OG Clubhouse is located just on the far side of Thomspsonville Lane, a few minutes’ walk from the casino’s front entrance. Poker fans can occasionally catch games and tournament final tables streaming online from the Oak Room in HD.
While the scare at Oak Grove drew attention mostly from local media, it’s part of a troubling trend of bomb threats targeting casinos nationwide in recent years.
Bomb Scares a Perennial Nuisance for Casino Industry
The Oak Grove bomb scare is at least the second this year in the U.S. Rivers Casino in Philadelphia was evacuated back in February due to a suspicious package.
Pennsylvania State Police blocked the entrance to the casino while other police cars were stationed around the main entrance of the building. Thankfully, the casino was determined to be safe and opened soon after.
Internationally, the Casino Monte Carlo had a similar incident over the summer.
All these events were false alarms.
Last year, Hard Rock Tampa was evacuated twice in the space of just 24 hours last year, as two concealed devices were found in washrooms on the premises. Although in this case there were actual explosives, they were crudely made using fireworks, and authorities said they were unlikely to have posed a serious threat.
The first evacuation came just before midnight on a Sunday and lasted until the device was deactivated at 3 a.m.
A partial evacuation of the mezzanine area occurred at noon the following day as the second device was found in the mezzanine-level men’s restroom.
Although nothing much comes of most casino bomb scares, that isn’t always the case.
Have Any Casino Bomb Scares Turned Out to Be Genuine?
The FBI describes the Harvey’s Casino bomb as one of the most unusual improvised explosive devices its agents have ever had to deal with. In the summer of 1980, a group of accomplices managed to smuggle a large, dynamite-based bomb into Harvey’s Resort Hotel and Casino in Stateline, Nevada, disguised as a copy machine. It had elaborate mechanisms designed to trigger it if it was shifted or opened once armed.
Harvey’s and several other casinos were evacuated in the Lake Tahoe area. After a day of deliberation, authorities attempted to disable it with a shaped charge. However, the bomb exploded, creating a five-story crater in the hotel.
The bomber was a man named John Birges, who had demanded $3 million in return for instructions on disarming the bomb safely.
Fortunately, these more recent incidents didn’t involve an actual bomb. However, the few that do provide ample reasons for casinos and local law enforcement to take every threat seriously.
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