Slot Machine Glitch Leads to Frustration - /CasinoWire/ - DTROIT, MI - A slot machine malfunction that allows players to cheat was detected early morning on April 24 by employees of MotorCity Casino in Detroit.

The problem affects all slot machines manufactured by WMS Industries, the second-largest slots manufacturer in the U.S. with 15-20 percent of the market. The malfunction or "glitch" allows cheaters to play for free credits in the slot machine by jamming the machine's bill acceptor.

Casino operators are temporarily dealing with the problem in two ways: by disabling the bill acceptor or disabling the hopper inside the machines. "Certainly, there are difficulties," says Jim Mundy, spokesman for Casino Windsor that has 180 WMS machines. "With the nickel games, you have to imagine dropping in 45 coins, the maximum bid on some machines, just to pull the handle once."

Greektown, with 360 machines, has disabled the hopper, forcing players to wait for payouts. "It's nonsense," says Darlene Blaesing, Instant Winner nickel slots player at Greektown. "In order to get paid three credits, you have to wait 20 minutes. It's ridiculous." John Hawkins, Greektown's vice president of slots, admits, "It's a real pain in the neck. We've doubled our staff in our slots area."

Orrin Edidin, executive vice president of WMS says, "We don't view it as a software glitch; we see it as criminal manipulation of the device." It could take a month before the problem is fixed.

Harrah's Closes Memphis Call Center Cuts 143 Jobs - LOS ANGLES, CA - Casino operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc. closed its data call center in Memphis, TN, and eliminated 143 positions on April 22. Duties at its Memphis Tele-services Center would be outsourced to APAC Customer Services Inc. after the center is shuttered on Sunday. The move left about 400 Harrah's employees in Memphis, which also was home to Harrah's headquarters until it was relocated to Las Vegas in 1999.