Business Espionage: Casino Caught Spying - Fine $1 million

NV - The commission considered a two-count complaint by the Gaming Control Board against Peppermill Casinos Inc., which owns operations in Reno, Sparks, Henderson and Wendover, for sending out an employee to illegally gather information on the slot machine win percentages of its competitors. The complaint also recommended a $1 million fine. 

The complaint alleged that since 2011, Peppermill employee Ryan Tors had a slot machine "reset" key that allowed him to enter the slots in other competitors to determine the amount of hold — the amount kept by casinos on wagers.

On July 12, hotel security officers at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno caught Tors using a reset key at their property. An investigation revealed that, beginning at least in 2011, Tors had used the reset key to obtain the information in 10 other casinos in the Reno-Sparks and Wendover areas. (more)