Former security guard accused of sending bomb threat to local racino

AUSTINTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A former security guard at Hollywood Gaming is in the Mahoning County Jail after he was arrested Tuesday on accusations that he sent a bomb threat to the racino earlier this month.

Mark Simini, 51, of Niles, was arraigned Wednesday in Mahoning County Area Court in Austintown on a charge of making terroristic threats, a third-degree felony. His bond was set at $15,000.

He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Nov. 6.

Reports said those at the racino notified township police Oct. 2 of the threats after they received two letters in the mail. The first letter contained the threats, reports said.

Reports said the person writing the first letter demanded that the charity donate money to an animal charity, reinstate Simini, give a complimentary trip to Las Vegas to two people whose names are redacted from a police report and pay Simini $9 million or a bomb would explode in the casino.

The second letter said the first letter was a hoax and it should be disregarded.

Reports said personnel at the casino told police Simini had been fired in August 2023 from the casino and he has been coming back to see if he could get rehired there.

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