A new local slots parlor is dealing with some unwanted publicity after it accidentally told a retiree he won $102,000, then offered him two free meals instead
Stephen Wilkinson spoke with NBC 10 on Wednesday about his experience at the new slots parlor at Philadelphia Park, a racetrack outside Philadelphia in Bensalem, Pa.
Wilkinson was feeding 50 cents a pull into a slot machine on Monday when message board attached to the machine lit up.
Wilkinson told NBC 10 he saw an ad in a local newspaper that there would be big jackot every day for casino-card holders.
He then said a message flashed across a screen saying, "Power Player jackpot, Steve Wilkinson, congratulations you have just won $102,000."
Wilkinson said the message flashed across two or three more times. "Then it went down on the machine itself. It said, 'Pay The Patron 408,000 quarters,'" Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson said he then pressed a button for the attendant.
"She came over, patted me on the back, and (the message) flashed across the screen again," Wilkinson said. "She said, 'congratulations, you're the big jackpot winner.' Then another girl came over and did the same thing."
Wilkinson said a third woman came over, got on a walkie-talkie and said the head of the casino would come by with a check for him.
"About a half hour after the initial hit, they came over and said, 'we were running a test on the system and it never should have come out on the floor, and we're sorry,'" Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson then requested to speak with someone else, and then a manager came out to offer him two food comps at the buffet instead of the $102,000 jackpot, he said.
Wilkinson said he didn't appreciate the way he thought the casino handled the situation and let him think for 30 minutes that he hit the jackpot.
"They were trying to get me to get away from the machine, to try to go downstairs to talk to their lawyer," Wilkinson said. "I told them I wanted the Gaming Commission there so they could see it, so I had some sort of proof this actually did happen."
"The way it was handled was just bad, it was wrong," he said.
In a statement, Philadelphia Park casino said, "There was a mistake in the casino's in-house computer run communication system," said Darlene Monzo, vice president of marketing.
<FORM class=formInline name=SurveyQuestions10835400 action=http://cf.nbc10.com/phi/sh/con_surveycontest_display/sur_results_nt.cfm method=post><INPUT type=hidden value=phi name=sitekey><INPUT type=hidden value=10835400 name=contentid><INPUT type=hidden value=yes name=thissurvey><SCRIPT type=text/javascript>function surveyResults10835400(){if (self.opener){document.SurveyQuestions10835400.submit();}else{window.open('','SurveyResultWindow','width=280,height=380,toolbar=no,location=no,status=no,menuBar=no,scrollBars=1,resizable=yes,top=50,left=50').focus();document.SurveyQuestions10835400.target='SurveyResultWindow';document.SurveyQuestions10835400.submit();}}</SCRIPT> <TABLE class=ibssurvey borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=160 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=border bgColor=#f4f7fe><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" align=right bgColor=#f4f7fe border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=surveytitle bgColor=#f4f7fe> SURVEY</TD></TR><TR><TD class=medium bgColor=#f4f7fe>Should A Man Who Was Told Accidentally He Won $102,000 At A Casino Get The Money?<INPUT type=hidden value=1 name=questionum> <INPUT id=q1ans1 type=radio value=1 name=answer1><LABEL for=q1ans1>Yes</LABEL>
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Philadelphia Park spokesman Andrew Becker confirmed that Wilkinson had received the message on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. Wilkinson's name appeared in the message because he was using a casino-issued players card to track his bets.
"It was just an error in the communication system -- an unfortunate one, I might add," Becker said.
He noted that all machines carry a disclaimer telling players that machine malfunctions void all pays and plays. But he acknowledged that the mistake appears to have been in the casino's computerized in-house communications system, not in the machine.
Wilkinson, who said he had visited the casino about 15 times, has filed a complaint with Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
"If this is a violation of internal controls, they (the casino) will be heavily fined and sanctioned," board spokesman Doug Harbach said.
Philadelphia Park is one of three slots casinos that have opened recently in Pennsylvania. Eight more are scheduled to open by next year.
http://www.nbc10.com/news/10834746/detail.html<!--stopindex-->
Stephen Wilkinson spoke with NBC 10 on Wednesday about his experience at the new slots parlor at Philadelphia Park, a racetrack outside Philadelphia in Bensalem, Pa.
Wilkinson was feeding 50 cents a pull into a slot machine on Monday when message board attached to the machine lit up.
Wilkinson told NBC 10 he saw an ad in a local newspaper that there would be big jackot every day for casino-card holders.
He then said a message flashed across a screen saying, "Power Player jackpot, Steve Wilkinson, congratulations you have just won $102,000."
Wilkinson said the message flashed across two or three more times. "Then it went down on the machine itself. It said, 'Pay The Patron 408,000 quarters,'" Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson said he then pressed a button for the attendant.
"She came over, patted me on the back, and (the message) flashed across the screen again," Wilkinson said. "She said, 'congratulations, you're the big jackpot winner.' Then another girl came over and did the same thing."
Wilkinson said a third woman came over, got on a walkie-talkie and said the head of the casino would come by with a check for him.
"About a half hour after the initial hit, they came over and said, 'we were running a test on the system and it never should have come out on the floor, and we're sorry,'" Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson then requested to speak with someone else, and then a manager came out to offer him two food comps at the buffet instead of the $102,000 jackpot, he said.
Wilkinson said he didn't appreciate the way he thought the casino handled the situation and let him think for 30 minutes that he hit the jackpot.
"They were trying to get me to get away from the machine, to try to go downstairs to talk to their lawyer," Wilkinson said. "I told them I wanted the Gaming Commission there so they could see it, so I had some sort of proof this actually did happen."
"The way it was handled was just bad, it was wrong," he said.
In a statement, Philadelphia Park casino said, "There was a mistake in the casino's in-house computer run communication system," said Darlene Monzo, vice president of marketing.
<FORM class=formInline name=SurveyQuestions10835400 action=http://cf.nbc10.com/phi/sh/con_surveycontest_display/sur_results_nt.cfm method=post><INPUT type=hidden value=phi name=sitekey><INPUT type=hidden value=10835400 name=contentid><INPUT type=hidden value=yes name=thissurvey><SCRIPT type=text/javascript>function surveyResults10835400(){if (self.opener){document.SurveyQuestions10835400.submit();}else{window.open('','SurveyResultWindow','width=280,height=380,toolbar=no,location=no,status=no,menuBar=no,scrollBars=1,resizable=yes,top=50,left=50').focus();document.SurveyQuestions10835400.target='SurveyResultWindow';document.SurveyQuestions10835400.submit();}}</SCRIPT> <TABLE class=ibssurvey borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=160 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=border bgColor=#f4f7fe><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" align=right bgColor=#f4f7fe border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=surveytitle bgColor=#f4f7fe> SURVEY</TD></TR><TR><TD class=medium bgColor=#f4f7fe>Should A Man Who Was Told Accidentally He Won $102,000 At A Casino Get The Money?<INPUT type=hidden value=1 name=questionum> <INPUT id=q1ans1 type=radio value=1 name=answer1><LABEL for=q1ans1>Yes</LABEL>
<INPUT id=q1ans2 type=radio value=2 name=answer1><LABEL for=q1ans2>No</LABEL>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=medium align=middle bgColor=#f4f7fe><INPUT class=ibssubmitbutton onclick=surveyResults10835400() type=button value=Vote> Results | Disclaimer
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Philadelphia Park spokesman Andrew Becker confirmed that Wilkinson had received the message on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. Wilkinson's name appeared in the message because he was using a casino-issued players card to track his bets.
"It was just an error in the communication system -- an unfortunate one, I might add," Becker said.
He noted that all machines carry a disclaimer telling players that machine malfunctions void all pays and plays. But he acknowledged that the mistake appears to have been in the casino's computerized in-house communications system, not in the machine.
Wilkinson, who said he had visited the casino about 15 times, has filed a complaint with Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
"If this is a violation of internal controls, they (the casino) will be heavily fined and sanctioned," board spokesman Doug Harbach said.
Philadelphia Park is one of three slots casinos that have opened recently in Pennsylvania. Eight more are scheduled to open by next year.
http://www.nbc10.com/news/10834746/detail.html<!--stopindex-->
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