Spooky slot machines get pulled from casino

Casino gamblers in Ontario, Canada, could have been subjected to subliminal messages as they played on three slot machine games manufactured by Japanese gaming company Konami.

Concerns grew that the games Most Wanted, Sgt. Fritter and The Billionaires were flashing the jackpot winning symbols at gamblers every two seconds during a wheel spinning animation. However, the symbols would be imperceptible to the naked eye but fears grew that subconsciously gamblers would be brainwashed into playing more than they normally would, believing they would be about to hit the jackpot.

"The games flash winning jackpot symbols at players for a fifth of a second, long enough for the brain to detect even if the players are not aware of the message,” psychologists told CBC News.

As a result, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has pulled 87 machines out of operation as an investigation gets underway.

Konami Gaming responded by saying that the images were a "software glitch" and that they would be working hard to rectify the problem.

The subliminal messages were noticed when a film crew form CBC News sneaked a camera into an Ontario racetrack and filmed one of the slot machine’s as they were played.

Editor, Jackpot.co.uk - 2007-02-27 11:19:26