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Federal Lawsuit Targets Slots

HARTFORD, Connecticut – As reported by the Hartford Courant: "William H. Poulos couldn't get enough of slot machines and video poker.

"On a binge from the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the Florida man - a self-described professional gambler - followed the usual path for slots players: He lost.

"…Poulos and a handful of other hard-core bettors are now out to even the score and bring the $70 billion U.S. gambling industry to its knees, forcing it to tell what they say is the truth about slot machines.

"For 10 years, Poulos and his hard-luck plaintiffs have pursued a class action lawsuit charging that casinos, slots manufacturers and cruise ship operators - virtually the entire gambling industry - have fleeced machine patrons with a knockout cocktail of computer technology, crafty marketing and outright deception.

"The case is pending in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

"…Behind it all is a broad industry conspiracy, Poulos charges, involving dozens of casinos and manufacturers.

"The casinos and slots manufacturers, Poulos argues, are 'engaged in a course of fraudulent and misleading acts and omissions to induce people to play their video poker and electronic slot machines based on a false belief concerning how those machines actually operate."

"…The Poulos case is part of a ripple of lawsuits beginning to confront the gambling industry, challenging the gaming business in the same way that tobacco litigation succeeded during the 1990s.

"…Recently, the [American Gaming Association] released a 'code of conduct' for gambling. It emphasizes training employees, voluntary exclusion of problem gamblers and advertising 'responsibly.' The group also sponsors an annual conference that brings together gambling executives and health researchers - all of whom invariably call for more research, not government regulation.

"…Poulos' suit targets the major casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, as well as slots makers such as International Game Technology and Bally. Indian casinos, because they are immune from lawsuits, are not named.

"…Thus far, U.S. courts have chosen not to lay any blame at the door of casinos or slot machine manufacturers.

"…Playing a machine is 'purely a function of individual belief, expectation and perception,' industry lawyers argue in a court deposition. They further cite the fact that it is the responsibility of state regulators to make sure that games are fair. They also note there is no evidence of a nationwide conspiracy among casinos and slots manufacturers.

"…Nelson Rose, a law professor at Whittier College in California and gambling law expert, sees little future in lawsuits modeled after tobacco litigation…"

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