Aug 17, 2007 12:17 pm US/Eastern
Slot Machine Mistakenly Doubled Gamblers' Money
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ―
It was the slot machine that kept on giving -- and giving.
A malfunctioning video lottery terminal at Twin River in Lincoln, R.I. gave gamblers credit for twice as much money as they had inserted, erroneously paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of two months.
The machine, installed in May, was removed on July 15 after the problem was discovered.
Gtech, the company that supplied the machine, says it has reimbursed the state the $450,115 that the terminal paid out. It is also investigating whether any criminal activity occurred, whether Gtech can recoup any of the lost money and whether the problem could have been discovered earlier, said company spokesman Robert Vincent.
WJAR-TV in Providence, R.I. was the first to report the malfunctioning machine. The station said a Twin River patron reported the problem, but Vincent told The Providence Journal he could not confirm that.
Twin River was formerly known as Lincoln Park and is one of two state-authorized gambling parlors in Rhode Island.
Vincent said the machine was installed on May 25, with a money-doubling feature apparently turned on accidentally. The feature allow patrons to get credit for double the amount of money they put in, with a maximum of a $100 credit for a $50 bill.
The investigation is being overseen by Steven Pare, the former superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and the current senior director of global security at Gtech's headquarters.
The state will keep $274,000 of the reimbursed money, and the rest will be distributed among Gtech, Twin River and the town of Lincoln.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
