Some A.C. Slots Reject New $10s

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - April 12, 2006 (WPVI) -- A new, more colorful version of the $10 bill that is designed to thwart counterfeiters is also flummoxing some slot machines in Atlantic City that haven't been upgraded to recognize the new money.

"The problem is extensive," Virginia McDowell, a spokeswoman for Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., told The Press of Atlantic City for Wednesday's newspapers.

McDowell said only about 100 of the casino's 9,300 slot machines have upgraded computer chips that allow them to recognize the bills.

At Resorts Atlantic City, spokesman Brian Cahill said about one-third of the 2,853 slot machines need to be reprogrammed to accept the new money, a process that he said would be completed by the end of the month.

Other slot machines accept the bills. A spokeswoman for Harrah's, which owns four casinos in Atlantic City, said their slot machines have not experienced any problems. Daniel Heneghan, a spokesman for the state's Casino Control Commission, said the agency has approved a number of different software upgrades recently to make sure the $10 bills were accepted, and said few casinos have reported problems.

Nicholas I. Nickolich, vice president of slot operations at the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort, said the problem has been mitigated because $10 bills aren't too popular with gamblers who tend to play with $20 or $100 bills.

The new bills, which went into circulation last month, have additional colors, including red and orange, as well some new designs and lettering.

(Copyright 2006 by the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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