Justin Curzi, a resident of Oregon and participant in various gaming activities, announced that he is currently suing the Oregon State Lottery.
Curzi accused the Lottery as well as a number of manufacturers of slot machines in having deceived the communities about the “auto-hold” option they offer. His claims are for a compensation, equal to $134 million.
That was the sum announced by Jay Zollinger, the attorney who will be in charge of defending Curzi’s interests. People, familiar with the matters, commented that such a battle has a pretty much predetermined outcome but Curzi is optimistic that justice will prevail.
Zollinger and his client in particular, accused WMS Gaming, GTECH USA, IGT Inc. and Oregon State Lottery of unjust enrichment, misrepresentation, fraud and last but not least negligence.
According to Curzi, Oregon-based players have experienced losses, equal to the compensation he requested – $134 million, due to the fact that Oregon gambling providers have encouraged local players to use the “auto-hold” option available when playing on a video slot machine.
Curzi’s attorney filed a lawsuit where the names of the so called “rigged games” were mentioned.
According to the paperwork, submitted to the Court, the Oregon State Lottery has deliberately paid smaller amounts to the winners by applying the following scheme: the officials, representing the games mentioned in the filing made players believe that opting for the “auto-play” version of the game would boost their chances of winning.
The auto option in question has been implemented in order to help gambling providers improve their revenues. It was promoted as the fastest, easiest and yet the most enjoyable option for a game to be played.
It seemed like players liked the idea of sitting, waiting and relying on their luck to get home richer than they were upon entering the gambling premises. Players used to gladly leave the machine do the job but apparently, there were a few more details that needed consideration.
Curzi is absolutely convinced that the auto-hold option was intentionally implemented and operators knew that the feature is not what the tin says. As a matter of fact, Curzi claims that the machine tended to pick a wrong hand for the player on purpose.
Curzi’s attorney provided the media with further details about his client’s claims and said that the Oregon Lottery officials are well-aware of players’ perception of the auto-hold option but regardless, they did nothing to inform the players about the misconception and therefore, make them understand the essence of the auto-play feature better.
The case is going to continue and more information is to be revealed soon.
