cosmicpowers
04-05-2007, 05:54 PM
At Shuttered Casino, $17,000 Is Found in Crevices of Slots
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 5, 2007
ATLANTIC CITY, April 4 (AP) — It was the equivalent of reaching under the couch cushions and finding a dollar or so in loose change.
In the case of the former Sands Hotel and Casino here, though, the take was more than $17,000. That is what had fallen under or around its slot machines over the past 26 years.
The casino was closed in November, and it will be torn down later this year to make way for a $1.5 billion gambling hall to rival the plush, and successful, Borgata.
When workers began removing the 2,350 slot machines for use at other casinos owned by the Sands’ parent company, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., they expected to find some stray cash.
But just how much was a surprise: $17,193.34, to be exact. The take included coins, casino tokens and even a $100 bill.
“It was just shocking,” said Carmen Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Pinnacle Atlantic City.
Some of the money had rolled into tight spaces between the slot machines and even under the carpet, but most of it was found underneath the machines. The older ones contained buckets inside to hold coins that were deposited, and when they overflowed, coins sometimes rolled out.
“Some of the coins we had to pry up,” Ms. Gonzalez said. “They were stuck to the floor, they had been there so long.”
Workers had made guesses about how much money would ultimately be recovered, but most were wildly short.
“A lot were for less than $8,000,” Ms. Gonzalez said. “Mine was $4,900.”
The money belongs to Pinnacle, the Las Vegas-based company that bought the Sands from the businessman Carl Icahn last year for $250 million and also operates casinos in Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri and Argentina.
New Jersey will get its cut — 8 percent in taxes — the same as any other money it gets from gamblers.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 5, 2007
ATLANTIC CITY, April 4 (AP) — It was the equivalent of reaching under the couch cushions and finding a dollar or so in loose change.
In the case of the former Sands Hotel and Casino here, though, the take was more than $17,000. That is what had fallen under or around its slot machines over the past 26 years.
The casino was closed in November, and it will be torn down later this year to make way for a $1.5 billion gambling hall to rival the plush, and successful, Borgata.
When workers began removing the 2,350 slot machines for use at other casinos owned by the Sands’ parent company, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., they expected to find some stray cash.
But just how much was a surprise: $17,193.34, to be exact. The take included coins, casino tokens and even a $100 bill.
“It was just shocking,” said Carmen Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Pinnacle Atlantic City.
Some of the money had rolled into tight spaces between the slot machines and even under the carpet, but most of it was found underneath the machines. The older ones contained buckets inside to hold coins that were deposited, and when they overflowed, coins sometimes rolled out.
“Some of the coins we had to pry up,” Ms. Gonzalez said. “They were stuck to the floor, they had been there so long.”
Workers had made guesses about how much money would ultimately be recovered, but most were wildly short.
“A lot were for less than $8,000,” Ms. Gonzalez said. “Mine was $4,900.”
The money belongs to Pinnacle, the Las Vegas-based company that bought the Sands from the businessman Carl Icahn last year for $250 million and also operates casinos in Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri and Argentina.
New Jersey will get its cut — 8 percent in taxes — the same as any other money it gets from gamblers.