Regulators OK slot system

Tuesday, July 16, 2002 | 11:06 a.m.

Slot manufacturer Alliance Gaming Corp.'s Bally Gaming and Systems unit has received regulatory approvals from the state Gaming Control Board for a slot machine system that issues bar-coded coupons to reward players.

SDS Coupon issues coupons that, when fed into a slot machine's bill validator, offer promotional credits that can't be cashed out. The system is one of several of Alliance's so-called "cashless" machine products -- systems that allow players to gamble by using and redeeming tickets rather than coins or bills.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has implemented SDS Coupon in Nevada and plans to install the system in an additional 12,000 slot machines from various manufacturers over the next several weeks. The Las Vegas casino operator expects to market the product under the Reel Rewards brand name.

The company also is pursuing regulatory approvals for the machines in its other casino jurisdictions, Harrah's Chief Information Officer John Boushy said.

The SDS Coupon system already is an established product in Atlantic City casinos, Alliance said. Bally Gaming and Systems is the slot machine and gaming software division of Las Vegas-based Alliance Gaming.