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08th January, 2011 :: 08:11:05
Source: Casinos Online
Nevada investigators reveal how Pennsylvanian man & associates 'exploited' VP machines
Nevada investigators have thrown more light on how a Pennsylvanian man & his associates managed to extract possibly millions from land casino slot machines (see previous reports).
Andre Nestor (39) was on bail in Pennsylvania last week for exploiting the software on slot machines when he was re-arrested at the request of Nevada authorities for similar offences in that state, allegedly involving considerable sums of money.
The Pennsylvanian prosecutor deferred to the Nevada-based federal officials & Nestor was extradited to Las Vegas, still pleading his innocence.
"I'm being arrested federally for winning on a slot machine," he protested to news media.
However, two other men have pleaded guilty & will probably give evidence, whilst a third, 52-year-old John Kane of Las Vegas has been charged with Nestor on conspiracy offences.
The Las Vegas filings by the feds revealed more detail on how the duo managed to haul hundreds of thousands of dollars from the machines in various land casinos, according to a report in Ars Technica.
Federal prosecutors accuse the two men of using "an exploit" against a line of video poker machines in Las Vegas casinos over six weeks in the spring of 2009. According to the court documents, the men would make repeated small bets until finally winning a hand, then use a special button sequence to change the credits to a higher denomination & "access the previous winning hand of cards," triggering a jackpot.
Prosecutors claim that Kane discovered the exploit & confirmed it, later contacting Nestor & inviting him to travel to Vegas. The two allegedly 'worked' the Vegas machines, & then it is claimed that Nestor returned home & repeated the exploit on slots at the Meadows Racetrack & Casino near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he allegedly won over $400,000 before being apprehended.
Whilst at the courthouse on a jury hearing for his Pennsylvanian case, Nestor was nabbed by the FBI for the Vegas offences.
The case is gaining increasing media coverage as gamblers try to figure out exactly how the scam - if scam it is - was pulled off. Nestor maintains that no criminal activity was involved & that he did no more than take advantage of machine programming that gave the player an opportunity to win.
Certainly the evidence presented to the court will be followed closely by the gambling community.
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