In California, an administrative law judge is currently considering whether to revoke the provisional gambling license that has been continually held by the owners of the Lake Elsinore Casino since 1999.

California’s complaint:

According to a Monday report from The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper, last year saw the California Bureau of Gambling Control bring a complaint against Ted and Joseph Kingston alleging that the casino-owning cousins had repeatedly failed to provide it with adequate information while committing numerous licensing violations.

Family endeavor:

The newspaper reported that the businessmen purchased the southern California casino in partnership with relatives, Michelle Kingston-Knighton and Clyde Elden Kingston in the early-1990s. The venue, which was previously known as the Sahara Dunes Casino, was granted its first one-year gaming license in 1993 before applying for a more permanent authorization some six years later following a change to the western state’s gambling laws.

Provisional permission:

However, the California Bureau of Gambling Control reportedly responded by simply handing out a provisional one-year license while classing the small venue’s application for a longer-lasting endorsement as ‘pending.’ This state of affairs has continued on a rolling basis for some 20 years while Ted and Joseph Kingston are now thought to each hold a 47.5% stake in the Riverside County casino with the remaining interest controlled by a management firm co-owned by the pair.

Faulty findings:

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the California Bureau of Gambling Control subsequently finished its first required background investigation into the Lake Elsinore Casino and its owners in September of 2008 and subsequently recommended that the property located along Interstate 15 halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego be denied a regular gambling license. The regulator’s findings alleged that the venue in the city of Lake Elsinore had failed to maintain adequate records and had utilized ‘inappropriate accounting methods.’ The results of this examination moreover included contentions that Ted and Joseph Kingston had neglected to properly declare recent ownership changes and had continued to employ ‘a key employee with a felony conviction.’

Second survey:

Despite these less than stellar conclusions, the California Gambling Control Commission licensing authority asked for the matter to be referred to an evidentiary hearing, which had yet to take place as of February of 2016. In response to this eight-year delay, the Bureau initiated a second investigation that was completed some seven months later and arrived at almost an identical conclusion.

The most recent inquiry from the California Bureau alleges that Joseph Kingston has yet to provide it with the necessary licensing information. It also contends that the management firm this businessman owns with Ted Kingston has not filed the necessary paperwork that would give it permission to own a stake in a casino.

June determination:

Joseph Kingston is the full brother of the man behind the polygamous Davis County Cooperative Society sect of the Mormon religion, Paul Kingston, which is said to control a diverse range of agricultural, financial and service enterprises in the states of Idaho and Utah.

Finally, it was reported that the decision from the California administrative law judge, which is to be based on a hearing held last month, is expected to be made public in late-June and could result in Ted and Joseph Kingston being forced to shutter of sell the Lake Elsinore Casino.