ABCNEWS.com
W A S H I N G T O N, Dec. 31 — Check back here for continuous updates from the president’s Y2K Information Center.
Slot Machines Down
With the exception of “continuing high usage of cell phones,” the biggest Y2K-related problem in the nation appears to be the crash of hundreds of video slot machines at Delaware race tracks.
Bill Fasy, general manager of the Delaware Park track in Wilmington, says his first move in 2000 will be to sue WMS Gaming for letting his machines go down on what he says is usually one of the busiest days of the year. Fasy says WMS staff waited until the last minute to replace outdated chips that looked 72 hours ahead on Wednesday and read tomorrow’s date as Jan. 1, 1900.
“They did not do their job,” Fasy complains. “You don’t wait until the busiest day of the year to fix a problem like this.”
John Koskinen, the president’s Y2K tsar, told reporters this afternoon that the computer coding problems that brought down the Delaware slots had been resolved. But that came as news to Fasy, who says state lottery officials have informed him that his 300 machines remain out of service and are likely to be down for the rest of the night.
A casino official in Las Vegas who also uses WMS machines says that no similar problems have been reported there.
-- semper paratus (ready@or.not), December 31, 1999