GTECH Holdings Corp. devises a way to link progressive slot machines in Rhode Island, Delaware and West Virginia to offer bigger payouts.

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, July 6, 2006

BY SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
Journal Staff Writer

Slot machine jackpots at Lincoln Park and Newport Grand are about to get a lot bigger.

Rhode Island is teaming with Delaware and West Virginia to offer new progressive slot machines with jackpots as high as $2 million.

The largest slot prize in Rhode Island to date has been $693,301.

These larger, life-changing jackpots will help bring Rhode Island's slot parlors more in line with major casinos such as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

Progressive slots work like this: each time a player places a bet, a portion of that money is allocated to a communal jackpot. Machines in Rhode Island, as well as in the other states, will all contribute to the central jackpot, which keeps growing until one gambler hits the winning combination.

The concept is very similar to how Powerball jackpots grow.

Progressive slot machines exist here and in other states. But this is the first time that states are linking together slot machines -- technically video lottery terminals.

The chances of winning the top prize become a lot harder because more people are vying for it. But because more people are contributing to the ever-growing jackpot, the prize is significantly larger than what is currently offered.

Rhode Island's 4,672 slot machines are expected to bring in $305 million for the state this year.

The higher jackpots are also expected to bring in more gamblers.

"It's just like when Powerball increases and more people go out and buy tickets," said Lincoln Park spokeswoman Cynthia Stern. "We hope it's the same result; that people will become more excited about it, more enthusiastic realizing they have the opportunity to win millions of dollars."

The new game, called Ca$hola, is still being tested. No start date has been set.

The effort is being coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association, a group of lotteries that runs Powerball.

Jackpots on these new machines will start at $300,000 with the average prize being $1 million, according to Wayne Dolezal, director of business and legal affairs for the association.

Jackpots could climb to as high as $2 million, Dolezal said.

The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 7 million, he said, with about 12 jackpots a year predicted.

The idea of linking slot machines together is not new.

Casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas have offered them for some time.

For instance, Atlantic City's 12 casinos have progressive machines that are linked between casinos in New Jersey, but not in other states.

Rhode Island has had its own in-state progressive game -- Jumbo Jackpot -- since February 2002. That game links 68 machines at Lincoln Park with 20 at Newport Grand. In order to qualify for the jackpot, $1.25 must be wagered on each bet.

The state's $693,301 record jackpot was hit on Sept. 24, 2005, on a Jumbo Jackpot machine at Lincoln Park.

Gerald S. Aubin, who runs the Rhode Island Lottery, said the idea of linking multi-state slot machines has been floating around for more than a decade. But it took several years to work around technical problems including how to integrate systems in three states and how to integrate machines manufactured by different vendors.

GTECH Holdings Corp. won a bid in December 2004 to manage the system. GTECH will get 3.4 percent of the net proceeds from those machines as part of the contract, according to Dolezal. The company expects to make $5 million from the four-year contract.

Company spokesman Robert Vincent said GTECH created a "pretty unique" system to handle the multi-venue and multi-vendor challenges. He said a patent is pending on that system.

The Ca$hola game will initially combine 268 machines, according to the Rhode Island Lottery. Lincoln Park will have 50, Newport Grand 15. Delaware will have 92 machines in its three facilities and West Virginia will have 111 in its four locations.

In order to qualify for the jackpot, gamblers must wager $2.25 on each spin. The prize would be paid out like traditional lottery jackpots: a 20-year annuity or a smaller lump-sum prize.

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