Watch Your Slot Machine Vouchers

With the advent of vouchers coming out of slot machines instead of coins, thieves have found something else to target instead of your coins. In fact, the idea that there is just a little piece of paper between them and your winnings makes them rather happy as the casinos have essentially just made it much easier on them so that they don’t have to worry about lugging around coins, they just take tickets.

The vouchers that come out of the slot machines are the same as cash, and anyone can cash them in. PhiladelphiaPark in Pennsylvania has discovered that the thieves are targeting their casino, as they have had a rash of thefts of the vouchers. They wait for someone to leave their casino for a moment, usually to check on another slot machine or use the restroom, etc. and then they quickly hit the button and cash out your winnings.

This is not to say that it is limited to Philadelphia Park, it is happening all over the country. New Jersey State Police said they have been watching for this for several years, and have caught many a con artist. Some of the people who take the winnings merely happen upon a slot machine that they think is abandoned, but some people are deliberately out to take other players’ money.

The state’s Attorney General’s office is looking into the voucher thefts, as they are having a hard time figuring out which ones are actually stolen and which ones someone took because they thought they had been abandoned. They say having someone steal your credits at a slot machine is the same as if they are stealing your purse – but if you leave your purse abandoned you should expect that someone not as honest as you is going to take it.

Back to Monthly Archive // Main Slot Machine News Index