Missouri casino facing
$200,000 fine
November 30
Monday, g
ambling
regulators in Missouri
decided to fine Ameristar
Casino $200,000. The fine
was given due to a
malfunction of its St.
Charles casino's progressive
slot machines .
If Ameristar's fine
sticks
,
it will become the
third-highest fine the
Missouri Gaming Commission
has ever handed out.
Ameristar now has a 30 days
period where it can appeal
to the fine.
The
company broke gambling laws
when a component in its
progressive slot machines
failed to work properly. The
malfunction caused the
amount being shown to
gamblers as the potential
jackpot to be wrong.
Progressive slot machines
are linked to many others
and gamblers play for a
chance at hitting the
jackpot that continually
grows over a period of time.
In this type of play, the
potential jackpot is always
noticeably posted on the
progressive machines.
A
glitch in the software used
in the machines caused the
jackpot to show a lower
amount than it was supposed
to.
The
commission stated that the
progressive slot machines
displayed the wrong winning
total between the period of
August 2002 and March 2004,
cause for lower jackpots to
the amount of $152,811
total. Additionally, the
commission stated that the
casino needed to have an
alternative or backup system
to discover such errors like
its Kansas City casino has
in place.
The
commission conceded that the
casino has installed a
backup system in St. Charles
and in early November
the casino has also put the
$152,811 back into the
progressive slot machines.
