Computer Crash Leaves Graton Casino Players to Wither at Broken Machines
Computers that control gaming, loyalty and other systems failed Friday night at Graton Casino, leaving hundreds of slot players to wait for hours at machines that were unable to issue payout slips.
The computer issue, which began sometime after 9:00 pm, affected all the casino’s slot machines, loyalty kiosks, and even the casino gift shop.
Slot machines that were unable to issue pay slips blinked out the message “Call attendant. Hand pay.” Slot machine attendants were hard to find, with one customer tweeting “Only a few techs helping the ‘big payouts.’”
The same customer, @baseballbabe_8, who was celebrating her birthday at the casino, said that she waited two hours to be paid and that the computers remained down until after 1:00 a.m.
In addition to slot machines, the casino’s loyalty club kiosks were also offline.
With machines unable to issue pay slips, customers slumped for hours in front of the machines, waiting for the “hand payment” of winnings by an attendant, and unwilling to leave their winnings to the casino.
Some players continued to play working machines. Apparently, the machines froze only when customers requested a payout.
While the gift shop reported that its payment systems were also down, food court and bar payment systems continued to operate. Table games, which operate with human dealers, also continued.
Graton Casinos is operated by Station Casinos, a Nevada company, on behalf of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. The casino is located in Rohnert Park, Calif.
One customer, who said that he had been “waiting by my machiens since 9:15,” posted a short video of the casino floor:
https://twitter.com/MCNiiCKsoSiiCK/status/908959385455443968
In the video, bored players slump at disabled slot machines displaying on-screen error messages and blinking attendant call lights.
As this reporter left the casino at about 11:30 pm, a full bus of would-be customers pulled up to the front door.
