Did you know that bars are not allowed to host or even permit drinking games on their property? This was just one of many lessons taught at a weekend seminar on liquor laws.

An estimated 200 people filled the Lawrence Arts Center’s theater Sunday afternoon for a two-hour training session on serving alcohol.

“If they work in liquor stores, restaurants or bars, we want them to be familiar with all the regulations,” said Officer Trent McKinley of the Lawrence Police Department.

The Alcohol Compliance Education Training included five speakers who represented various agencies, including the Kansas Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), the Regional Prevention Center of East Central Kansas, the Lawrence Police Department and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.

For many in the crowded auditorium, much of the information was a review. This is the fourth year for the workshop.

“Having gone through it (workshop) so many times, it gets kind of repetitive, but it’s always good to have a reminder every year,” said Matt Green, a bartender at Brothers, 1105 Mass. Green said this was his third time attending the event.

The goal of the workshop is to supply restaurant and bar workers with the information they need to keep their customers safe and keep their establishments in compliance with the laws.

A central focus of the training was how to spot a fake ID and what to do if a minor presents one at the door. Those who attended were urged to keep minors out.

“We stress that this is something that would be detrimental to them personally as well as their establishment,” McKinley said. “We talked about how the establishment is fined if there’s a minor in the bar, but the individual server can also be issued a citation or fined or potentially even jailed.”

Jana Casper, who works at Cork and Barrel liquor store, attended the training. She said she appreciates the extra education.

“We get trained pretty well at the store, but it’s nice to hear if there’s any new rules or updates and get the ABC side of things, so I know I’m on the same page with them,” Casper said.