Flaming bag of potato chips blamed for fire at Hollywood Casino

    Apparently, it was a flaming bag of potato chips that led to a fire at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National this summer, causing $40,000 worth of damage.

    The Patriot-News reports investigators announced a former Hollywood Casino employee allegedly lit the bag of chips with a wand lighter and threw it into a bag filled with potato chip bags, sparking the fire.

    According to the report, 44-year-old Jean Gerald Boucard, was charged with causing or risking a catastrophe and criminal mischief.

    The casino fire sparked on August 12 around 5 p.m. in the fourth-floor catering area.

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    The Patriot-News says surveillance video showed Boucard holding a lighter in order to light a propane gas grill outside.

    The newspaper reports Boucard denied flicking the lighter or igniting the chips bag.

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