When PureDepth said its Multi-Layer Display technology would be "shipping soon," it meant "really soon." Nary two months after the company made said assertion, we're now hearing that IGT (a global computerized game machine company) has secured the aforesaid technology for a number of slot machines and other casino-bound systems. The REELdepth family of games, which includes around 70 of IGT's classics as well as a few new AVP (Advanced Video Platform) themes, should be luring vacationers and gamblers alike in the not-too-distant future, but sadly, we're not given a clue as to what casinos will be adopting said machines.

Gamblers at the Edogawa Kyotei boat races in Tokyo must now face the threat of robots in addition to their fateful vice. No, it's not meant as a deterrent, this Rocky Mountain robo-goat was installed as a way to help control litter. A ticket held to the beast's sensor-laden mouth initiates robotic mastication at a rate of about 500 losing tickets per day. You know, when not feeding on the sweet succulent bits of unattended children.

We know, you've got a zillion ways to get your Pong on whilst lounging around in your geeked-out crib, but how in the world will you deal with the withdrawals on this year's trip to Vegas? Thanks to Bally, you may not have to suffer at all, as Nevada gambling regulators recently approved the concept behind Bally Pong, a "slot machine that would for the first time allow hand-eye coordination to affect payout." Put simply, the machine would enter a 45-second round of Pong if three bonus icons line up on the five-reel video slot machine, and regardless of one's skill, a minimum award would be doled out simply for reaching the bonus. Oh, it gets better -- Bally also said that this was just "the first in a series of skill games (including Breakout!) it had planned," so those looking to see a hint of vintage when they hit the casino floor should be very pleased if everything goes as planned over the next few months.

[Via The Raw Feed]

In what sounds like it could have been a scene straight out of a Prohibition-era speakeasy, Tennessee law enforcement officials raided a Sevier County diner last Thursday and discovered that two of the arcade cabinets had been retrofitted to play video poker as well. After receiving several complaints from locals presumably curious about the recent popularity of Sharon Tarwater's Speedway Diner ("Come for the pie, stay for the poker"), sheriff's deputies moved in on the establishment and caught patrons right in the act -- despite the fact that the machines had been rigged with a remote switch to instantly change their functionality a la Moe's Pet Shop. Authorities found a total of just $338 in the pair of machines along with two located elsewhere, which would seem to suggest that Ms. Tarwater could have made almost as much loot just leaving the cabinets unaltered and charging $5-a-pop for the latest title to hit the home county of Dollywood, Street Fighter II.

[Via Joystiq]

It looks like the glory days of walking into a casino, hacking a slot machine, and leaving a wealthy individual is over, as not only are "software glitches" leading to rewards being revoked, but now you'll have devious dutiful system administrators watching (and potentially controlling, you never know) everything that happens to your machine. PureDepth, Inc. has inked a deal with International Game Technology to provide a "realistic digital video display" to add a new level of control to vanilla slot machines. On the nifty side, programmers can change the typical cherries and numbers to baseball bats, for instance, if they know the Red Sox are taking a field trip to their casino, but on the disappointing end, you can now rest assured that folks behind the scenes now have complete control over "cost, payout, and nearly every other aspect of the game." Darn, looks like we're stuck with ATM-jacking from here on out, eh?

We're fully aware that getting too clever while in a casino is likely to land you behind bars, but a Pennsylvania man is now crying foul after he got the short end of the stick in an unfortunate "mishap." The retired carpenter, who had visited the Philadelphia Park casino before, dropped his two quarters into a Wheel of Fortune slot machine only to win $102,000 -- or so he thought. The machine proudly conveyed his winnings right alongside his actual name, sending his emotions into a jovial whirlwind, but apparently the machine wasn't exactly supposed to, you know, let people hit the jackpot, and now he's fighting just to get his due reward. A spokesperson for the venue stated that it "was just an error in the communication system," but added the mistake seems to have originated in the in-house computing system, not within the machine itself. The man was offered "two tickets to the buffet" (saywha?) and advised to read the disclaimer on the machine, nullifying any awards if the machine malfunctions, but he still feels that this "fault" is illegitimate. So if you're the next person to strike it rich in a questionable casino, try not to get your hopes up too high, alright?

[Via TechDirt]

Joining the ever-growing list of folks using technology to unlawfully beat the odds is a group of British gurus who claimed nearly £250,000 ($487,400) before being sniffed out by curious officials at the Mint Casino in Cromwell Road. As with so many other high-rolling hijinks, the trio seemed to doing just fine, pulling in £38,000 ($74,084) during a single week at one point, but greed ended up getting the best of them, as you're bound to get scrutinized after winning 34 out of 44 matches in a row. The average joes-turned-poker-sharks utilized sleeve-mounted cameras to beam card deals to a completely wired up van waiting outside, which then rolled the footage in slow motion and passed along the top secret information to the actual table sitter, who listened intently via a hidden speaker. Their method illegally snagged massive chunks of coin from an estimated six of the capital's 25 gambling locales, and now they each face nine months behind bars, coupled with 150 hours of unpaid community service. Of course, one may argue the ethics behind stealing from a venue which thrives on suckering people in that stand little chance at walking out with any profit at all, but regardless, you won't see these folks in any gambling parlor for two full years after their stint, which should be ample time for RFID-infused playing cards to hit the underground market.

[Via Fark]

Singapore Airlines has its heavenly seats, and Virgin has textual Q&A sessions, so you knew Europe's low-cost leader in air travel had to find a gimmick of its own to implement before long. Should its in-flight calling proposal get the big thumbs-up from regulatory agencies, the airline is planning on giving customers the ability to play online bingo and a "number of other instant-win games" that will offer jackpots in excess of £200,000 ($380,000). To assist in promoting the in-flight gambling service, the company has teamed up with JackpotJoy to offer Ryanair's games on its website, and Ryanair's own CEO has already announced his plans to make "millions upon millions" off the deal. While we're certainly down with in-flight gaming creating lower ticket prices, encouraging gambling in order to so is admittedly dodgy, but if all goes as planned, you can roll your own dice starting in "mid-2007."

[Via CNET]

In case that established career of yours isn't working out so well, you may want to consider a move to the United Kingdom, where a new law deregulating the gambling industry may make it much easier to cheat at roulette. A £1,000 ($1,883) device, consisting of a tiny computer that can be embedded inside other electronics is used to calculate deceleration on a roulette wheel that's perceived to favor one section over another; the computer then sends an audio signal to the wearer alerting him/her where to place a bet. The Guardian reports that the legal change requires casinos to police themselves, and that the Gambling Comission is advising British gaming establishments to refuse making pay outs to gamblers caught with the device, forcing upset clientèle to take their grievances to court. Still, it's unclear whether or not the so-called Gambling Act 2005 which goes into effect next year actually prohibits such devices -- although it does create a "criminal offence for cheating at gambling," Europe's only professor of gambling, Mark Griffiths at Nottingham Trent University, argues that neither the roulette computer nor card counting techniques constitute cheating to begin with because both supposedly use "science to give yourself a better advantage." While we'd have to disagree that using a computer inside a casino is the same thing as using your brain, the fact of the matter is that the gambling community as a whole benefits from a stricter interpretation of the law: i.e. if electronic aids become legal, and everyone starts using them and winning, then the casinos will eventually go out of business and there'll be no more gambling at all -- way to ruin everyone's good time, you lousy non-cheaters.

[Via The Guardian]