Man gets home detention

Tuesday, April 23, 2002 | 11:19 a.m.

A Las Vegas man was sentenced in U.S. District Court Friday to six months of home detention and five years' probation for his part in a $6 million slot cheating ring.

Louis Melendez admitted to acting as a $30,000 jackpot winner for the group in 1997 at The Rio.

The group used electronic devices to cheat machines into awarding jackpots in 1996 and 1997, and was led by Dennis Nikrasch, now known as Dennis McAndrew, who was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.

Melendez was given home detention and probation instead of a maximum six months in prison because he is the sole means of support for his daughter and her child.

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