Nevada regulators OK Addams Family slot machine

Brendan Riley

Thursday, April 27, 2000 | 12:38 p.m.

CARSON CITY, Nev. - A slot machine based on the show "The Addams Family" today became the first such device to be restricted under Nevada's new "no slots for tots" rule.

The state Gaming Commission unanimously agreed to restrictions on the device, produced by International Game Technology, to ensure it's placed mainly in casinos and not restricted locations such as grocery stores.

Within casinos, Reno-based IGT also will have to ensure the machines aren't placed in areas that children might frequent - such as a near a casino's movie theater.

The new rule designed to make slots less appealing to children was adopted in January by image-conscious commissioners following debate over various devices based on cartoon, television or movie themes.

Under the rule, no slot can use a theme derived from or based on a product currently and primarily intended for, marketed to and used by people under 21.

But there's an exemption for themes that have been around for 21 or more years prior to a slot maker's bid to capitalize on them.

Ellen Whittemore, attorney for IGT, said the company did research that proved its new slot theme didn't target children. She said the theme started out as a 1930s-era cartoon in the New Yorker magazine, and turned into a television series in the 1960s that appealed mainly to adults.

Themed slots aren't new. Some already in casinos feature graphics or animation based on the 1930s icon Betty Boop, Monopoly, Yahtzee and Elvis Presley.

In other action, the commission approved:

Icahn is known to invest in undervalued properties, making immediate changes and selling out after turning quick profits. Other Las Vegas acquisitions include Arizona Charlie's and the Stratosphere hotel-casino.

Sapphire agreed in December to buy the Flamingo Hilton-Reno for $20 million. Last May, Sapphire bought the Comstock and agreed to buy a 46 percent stake in The Sands Regency.