they prolly already got it back in other machines and games...
Posted on 08/11/2006 7:35:34 PM PDT by xJones
BRIDGEPORT, Ind. (AP) -- Gamblers at Caesars Indiana raked in nearly a half-million dollars over two days on one slot machine that gave players credit for putting in 10 times as much money as they really had.
Caesars lost $487,000 before a player notified officials of the problem with the slot machine, The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., reported Friday.
The Indiana Gaming Commission is investigating, and the casino might end up being fined for failing to follow procedures designed to prevent such a problem, said Jennifer Arnold, the commission's deputy director.
The casino intends to try to get the money back, but commission Director Ernest Yelton said he did not know whether players were legally obligated to return their winnings.
Kathryn Ford of Louisville, Ky., realized something was wrong July 23 when she and her husband sat down at two of the machines, called Extra Money.
"We were going to have a race to see who could accumulate the most at one time on the same machine," she said.
But when she put in a $20 bill, the machine registered it as $200. She tried another $20 bill and the same thing happened, she said.
Ford said she put eight $20 bills in the machine and received vouchers that could be redeemed for $1,600 in cash -- without even playing.
Other gamblers noticed.
"There was even a young woman who jumped in while I was sitting there. She ... reached across me, popped a hundred in, popped out a thousand and then she took off," Ford said.
Ford and her husband reported the problem to a security officer, and casino officials determined that new software had been installed on the machine on July 21, according to a gaming commission report. The machine had a switch set in a position for use in the Philippines instead of the United States, and it instructed the machine to multiply credits by 10, the report said.
Seven other machines also had received new software, but they did not have the error.
Casino general manager Ed Garruto acknowledged that "our testing procedures before putting the game in place were not completely followed."
The commission report said three technicians and one supervisor were involved in the installation and testing of the software, and the technician who set the machine has been suspended pending investigation.
Garruto said he did not believe the error was deliberate.
"It looks like it was a costly mistake," he said.
But Caesars intends to try to recover the money, although Garruto added he wasn't sure they were under any legal obligation.
"We are going to contact some of the patrons who may have benefited a great deal and see if we can effect a recovery," he said. Some 24 of the gamblers won't be hard to find, because they used their casino player cards.
I don't think the casino has much of a basis to get their money back.
They owned the machines, their employees programmed the machines. The fact that they were gaffed to benefit the players in a big way, is just tough bananas from where I sit. The players aren't the ones who were in control of the equipment.
Just petty cash to Caesars : )
Knowing gamblers they probably blew it all later in the same casino anyway. And what if they won big with the money that wasn't their's.
If they knew what they were doing was wrong, yes.
they prolly already got it back in other machines and games...
The guy who told the casino about the malfunctioning machine is the same guy who used to raise his hand and tell the teacher that she left the answer sheet for the test laying on her desk in plain sight.
Uh, I'd really really like to talk to you personally, Tuna, it's just that I've been moving lately, and I'll have to get back to you in a couple of days.
Ciao, Showsomebutto!
The player.
One of the moral certainties of gambling.
When the odds are with the house, it's up to the house to police their equipment and employees.
They will have a difficult time. I say given the business they are in they should let it slide and make it back in spades.
Seriously, this is just a drop in the bucket for the casino. Trying to get the money back from their customers will only create bad PR. They should let it go.
I think you're right...if somebody goes to a casino to "play", they're gonna "play" all the more if they've received such a bonus - and we can pretty much guess 90% of the results.
I hate people like her. They don't understand the meaning of fair play. They have to tell when everyone has gotten an accidental extra cookie but never notice when they are served cookies half the size they thought they were paying for. lol
Oh, I misread the headline. Dang!
The casino gambled that the new software was working correctly. They lost.
Most of the time you clean the suckers out. Sometimes they clean you out.
Actually I don't think they'll have that difficult a time. It may turn out to be a windfall profit for them once the news is out that the casino has had a "easy" slot machine. People may pour in from many miles away.:)
Its gambling! Sometimes the house loses!
You need to wash your mouse out.:)
The guy who told the casino about the malfunctioning machine is the same guy who used to raise his hand and tell the teacher that she left the answer sheet for the test laying on her desk in plain sight.
Hey, there's a gimmick. They should advertise that every once in a while their slot machines go a bit crazy for a minute or so and pay off too much. It's probably against some gaming regs, though.
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