Bingo scandal extends to more states

Thursday, Sept. 26, 2002 | 11:02 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

GameTech International Inc. of Reno said Wednesday it voluntarily shut down its fixed-base electronic bingo units in Texas and Mississippi and is working closely with gaming officials in both states to ensure the integrity of the machines.

In a statement Wednesday, the bingo equipment company said the fixed-base units in Texas, Mississippi and Nevada provide about 13 percent of annual revenue.

On Tuesday, GameTech said the Nevada Gaming Control Board was investigating the possible misuse of electronic bingo units by a former GameTech software developer who died on Friday night in an apparent suicide.

The Control Board cleared the company's portable units, while the fixed-base units in Nevada remain out of service after they were ordered shut down by regulators Monday.

"From all indications, the employee misuse was limited to fixed-base units in the Las Vegas area," the company said.

GameTech shares closed Wednesday at $3.94, up 8 cents.

Nevada gambling regulators worked Wednesday to gauge the extent of the cheating.

"It's unfortunate that you have an individual that, because of his inside knowledge, was able to do this," state Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said.

"It's a fairly drastic move to shut down an entire system," Neilander said. "We still don't know how he did it. He corrupted the system and altered the system after it was installed."

Neilander said almost 3,200 hand-held electronic bingo card counters were allowed back in service late Tuesday, while investigators continued to try to determine whether other players were affected and how much money the scheme netted.

Keeton probably acted alone, Neilander said, and may have kept jackpot winnings below $1,200 to avoid having to fill out Internal Revenue Service paperwork.

"It looks like he was intentionally taking lower jackpots, so as not to attract attention," Neilander said.

He stressed that the bingo ball draw and random numbers generators at the heart of the grid game were not affected.

About 280 console-style bingo card minders in Las Vegas and Reno were still idled Wednesday while GameTech officials fixed a program that Keeton allegedly used to increase his odds of winning. Officials said he obtained free electronic bingo "cards" and increased the number he could play at once.

GameTech has sold about 7,000 console-style bingo counters and 50,000 hand-held devices to casinos and bingo halls in 30 states and 14 Indian tribes, said company spokeswoman Cheryl Walsh in Phoenix.

Players can use the devices to track and tally dozens of bingo cards electronically.

"We believe they will find that the problem has been identified and corrected by our engineers," Walsh said Wednesday. "They felt the whole thing was localized to Las Vegas."

GameTech Chief Executive Clarence Thiesen issued a statement calling Keeton one of the developers of the company's software, and one of few people with the knowledge to get around software safety designs.

"We can only speculate regarding what caused him to do this," Thiesen said. "Unfortunately, we may never know."

Keeton, 38, worked for the company for six years, but was recently dismissed from his job, Walsh said.

Keeton's widow, Hilary Keeton, said the couple had two small children and declined further comment.

Family lawyer David Houston of Reno, said "suspicion and allegation" about Keeton had not been proved.

Neilander said gambling investigators, acting on a tip, observed Keeton playing bingo at a neighborhood casino in Las Vegas last Thursday.

Investigators were waiting for Keeton at his job on Friday morning, but Keeton did not show up while the investigators were there, Neilander said.

Keeton plunged from the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge about 8:25 p.m. Friday, said Ken Holmes, coroner in Marin County, Calif.

Holmes called the case an apparent suicide, but said it remained under investigation. He said authorities found no vehicle at the bridge, and no note.

Neilander said the 16 Nevada casinos where regulators suspended the use of the GameTech games were able to continue bingo games with paper cards and ink daubers.

The 44 casino bingo operations in Nevada brought in $3.9 million in gambling revenues in 2001, just .04 percent of the state's $9.3 billion total gambling win.