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Unclaimed Casino Vouchers Help State Budget

A casino voucher is inserted into a slot machine.
Brandon Rittiman / KUNR
A casino voucher is inserted into a slot machine.

http://kunr-assets.trinityannex.com/audios/462_0607casinovoucher.mp3

Nevada lawmakers approved an interesting new way to help balance the state budget. Brandon Rittiman explains they passed a bill that takes money that gamblers throw away. Gone are the days when coins dropped from slot machines in Nevada casinos. When you cash out these days what you hear is this... (Sound- ticket printing) Machines like this one in Reno's El Dorado Casino print tickets with a cash value. Here's how that will help the state budget. Oftentimes, gamblers like Ramona Lloyd only have a penny or two left and decide to throw their tickets away. Lloyd: "Yeah, I think I have. But anything more than a penny, I know I've cashed it in." If you didn't cash in, the casinos used to keep those pennies, but the casinos lost at the legislature. The new law will treat most of that money as unclaimed property- same as a lost traveler's check, which means the state of Nevada can keep it. All those pennies add up: lawmakers expect their bill will raise 17-million dollars for the next state budget.