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Gaming Board: Reno Jackpot Was a Malfunction7 September 2001RENO, Nevada –Sept. 7, 2001 –As reported by the Associated Press: "Nevada Gaming Control Board agents say a Sacramento woman did not win a $2.8 million jackpot she thought she won last month at a Reno casino because the machine malfunctioned. "`The first reel started to spin, and it touched a maintenance card,' said Paul Dix, a Gaming Control Board supervisor. `And the machine did what it was supposed to do. It went into a tilt.' "But Francesca Galea, 29, insists her play was a legitimate win. And she's willing to fight for the winnings. "…Galea was playing the $1 Wheel of Fortune slot machine at the Eldorado Hotel-Casino when she said the winning symbols lined up in her first play of the night. "…Seconds later, the reels started into a slow spin and a slot technician told her the play wasn't legitimate. "International Game Technology owns the slot game and its progressive jackpot that pools money played from hundreds of Wheel of Fortune machines placed in Nevada casinos. "IGT spokesman Ed Rogich said machines are made to tilt whenever something goes wrong with the machine. He said it was evidence the machine Galea was playing had malfunctioned. "…Five days after Galea thought she had struck it rich, the same jackpot had grown to $3 million and was awarded to a player in Harrah's Laughlin Resort & Casino. "…Rogich said the fact that the game kept accumulating jackpot money was another telltale sign that Galeas play was a machine malfunction…" |