N.J. Admin. Code § 13:69D-1.41

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 13:69D-1.41 - Procedure for filling payout reserve containers of slot machines and hopper storage areas

(a) Each hopper of a slot machine may be filled by a slot attendant, slot mechanic or slot supervisor by requesting coin, slot tokens or prize tokens that are compatible with the hopper to be filled from a slot cashier, general cashier or master coin bank cashier or by obtaining coin, slot tokens or prize tokens that are compatible with the hopper to be filled from its corresponding hopper storage area.

1. A slot hopper may be refilled at any time, provided, however, that:

i. An entire sealed bag of coin or tokens is used for the hopper fill and placed into the hopper;

ii. The hopper cannot be filled beyond its operational capacity; and

iii. The hopper cannot be filled beyond its present inventory level.

(b) The filling of a hopper or a hopper storage area with coin, slot tokens or prize tokens obtained from a slot cashier, general cashier or master coin bank cashier shall be accomplished as follows:

1. Whenever a slot supervisor, attendant or mechanic requests coins, slot tokens or prize tokens to fill a hopper or a hopper storage area of a slot machine, he or she shall obtain a completed and signed Hopper Fill Slip ("Hopper Fills") from a slot cashier, general cashier or master coin bank cashier;

2. Hopper Fills shall be serially prenumbered forms, each series of Hopper Fills shall be used in sequential order, and the series numbers of all Hopper Fills received by a casino licensee shall be accounted for by employees independent of the cashiers' cage and the slot department. All original and duplicate void Hopper Fills shall be marked "VOID" and shall require the signature of the preparer. A casino licensee may utilize a serially prenumbered combined Jackpot Payout/Hopper Fill form;

3. For Hopper Fills which are manually prepared, the following procedures and requirements shall be observed:

i. Each series of Hopper Fills shall be a three-part form, at a minimum, and shall either be inserted in a locked dispenser that will permit an individual slip in the series and its copies to be written upon simultaneously while still locked in the dispenser, and that will discharge the original and duplicate while the triplicate remains in a continuous, unbroken form in the dispenser or attached in a manner that will permit each form to be written on simultaneously and will allow for the removal of the original and the duplicate and maintain the triplicates; and

ii. Access to the triplicates shall be maintained and controlled at all times by employees responsible for controlling and accounting for the unused supply of Hopper Fills, placing Hopper Fills in the dispensers, and removing from the dispensers the triplicates remaining therein;

4. For Hopper Fills which are computer prepared, each series of Hopper Fills shall be a two-part form, at a minimum, and shall be inserted in a printer that simultaneously prints an original and duplicate, stores in machine-readable form all information printed on the original and duplicate, and discharges the original and duplicate. The stored data shall not be susceptible to change or removal by any personnel after preparation of a Hopper Fill;

5. The Hopper Fill shall include the following information:

i. The asset number and denomination of the slot machine to which the coins, slot tokens or prize tokens are to be distributed;

ii. The date and time during which the coins, slot tokens or prize tokens are distributed;

iii. The denomination of the coin, slot tokens or prize tokens that are to be distributed;

iv. The amount of coins, slot tokens or prize tokens that are to be distributed;

v. The location from which the coins, slot tokens or prize tokens are distributed;

vi. The signature and, if computer prepared, the identification code of the preparer;

vii. The signature or identification code of the slot attendant, slot mechanic or slot supervisor requesting coins, slot tokens or prize tokens to fill the hopper (on the original and the duplicate only);

viii. Whether the coins, slot tokens or prize tokens are to be placed in the slot machine's:

(1) All-purpose hopper and/or any reserve hoppers that automatically replenish the all-purpose hopper;

(2) Payout-only hopper and/or any reserve hoppers that automatically replenish the payout-only hopper reserve hopper; or

(3) In its corresponding hopper storage area; and

ix. Whether the Hopper Fill is to be witnessed and verified by a second casino employee;

6. All coins, slot tokens or prize tokens distributed from a slot booth, master coin bank or the cashiers' cage to a slot machine or its corresponding hopper storage area shall, during their transportation to the machine or hopper storage area, remain in pre-wrapped secured bags;

7. The coin, slot tokens or prize tokens shall be transported directly to the slot machine or its corresponding hopper storage area, along with the duplicate Hopper Fill. A second casino employee shall observe the deposit of the coins, slot tokens or prize tokens in the appropriate slot machine hopper or the slot machine's corresponding hopper storage area, and the closing and locking of the slot machine or its corresponding hopper storage area by a slot mechanic, slot attendant or slot supervisor before obtaining the signature of the slot mechanic, slot attendant or slot supervisor on the duplicate copy of the Hopper Fill;

8. The surveillance department shall monitor the transportation to and deposit of the fill;

9. A slot mechanic who participates in filling a slot machine hopper shall inspect the slot machine and, if the hopper is empty, determine if the empty hopper resulted from a slot machine malfunction. A slot attendant or slot supervisor participating in a hopper fill shall review the Machine Entry Authorization Log and alert a slot mechanic to inspect the slot machine if the entries in the log indicate a consistent malfunction problem;

10. Signatures attesting to the accuracy of the information contained on the Hopper Fill shall be, at a minimum, the following personnel at the following times:

i. The original shall be signed by the slot cashier, master coin bank cashier or general cashier upon preparation of the Hopper Fill and by the casino employee transporting the coins, slot tokens or prize tokens to the slot machine upon receipt from the cashier of the coins or tokens to be transported; and

ii. The duplicate shall be signed by the slot cashier, master coin bank cashier or general cashier upon preparation of the Hopper Fill, by the casino employee transporting the coins, slot tokens or prize tokens to the slot machine upon receipt from the cashier of the coins or tokens to be transported and by the slot mechanic, slot attendant or slot supervisor after completing the fill procedures in the presence of the casino employee transporting the fill;

11. Upon meeting the signature requirements, the slot cashier, master coin bank cashier or general cashier shall maintain and control the original Hopper Fill and the casino employee who transported the fill shall deposit the duplicate in a secure, locked box controlled by the casino accounting department;

12. At the end of each gaming day, at a minimum, the original and duplicate Hopper Fill Slip shall be forwarded as follows:

i. The original Hopper Fill Slip shall be forwarded, in exchange for coin, currency or credit, to the master coin bank if prepared by a slot cashier or to the main bank if prepared by a general cashier. All original Hopper Fill Slips received or prepared by the master coin bank or received by the main bank shall then be forwarded to the accounting department, which shall confirm that the information on the original Hopper Fill agrees with the information on the triplicate or in stored data; and

ii. The duplicate Hopper Fill Slip shall be forwarded directly to the accounting department, which shall record the information from the Hopper Fill Slip on the Slot Win Report, and shall confirm that the information recorded on the Hopper Fill Slip agrees with the information on the triplicates or in stored data; and

13. A casino licensee may use one Hopper Fill Slip to document fills to more than one hopper storage area or to a hopper storage area that supplies more than one slot machine, if:

i. All of the fills are for the same denomination of slot machine and are accomplished at the same time; and

ii. The Hopper Fill Slip contains:

(1) The amount to be distributed to each hopper storage area or, if applicable, each compartment in a hopper storage area that supplies more than one slot machine;

(2) Spaces for slot and casino employee to initial after each individual fill; and

(3) The total amount of all hopper fills that are documented by the Hopper Fill Slip.

(c) Whenever a slot machine's hopper requires coin, slot tokens or prize tokens, a slot attendant or mechanic, after confirming that its corresponding hopper storage area contains the necessary coin, slot tokens or prize tokens to replenish the hopper to be filled, may, in the presence of a second casino employee, transfer the necessary coin, slot tokens or prize tokens from that slot machine's hopper storage area directly to the appropriate hopper of the corresponding slot machine. The second casino employee shall observe the deposit of the coins, slot tokens or prize tokens in the appropriate slot machine hopper and the closing and locking of the slot machine and its corresponding hopper storage area by the slot mechanic or attendant.

(d) After transferring the coins, slot tokens or prize tokens to the slot machine's appropriate hopper from a corresponding storage area pursuant to (c) above or upon completing a fill pursuant to (b) above of a slot machine's hopper, the slot attendant or mechanic shall make the entries required on the slot machine's log, which shall include the following:

1. The date and time of the transfer;

2. The type of hopper in the slot machine to which the coins, slot tokens or prize tokens were transferred;

3. The hopper fill slip number, if applicable;

4. The amount(s) of coins, slot tokens or prize tokens that were placed in that hopper; and

5. The name and license number of the slot attendant or slot mechanic who made the transfer or fill.

(e) Each casino licensee removing a prize token shall count it, for purposes of calculating its gross revenue as cash received from gaming operations for the face amount of the prize token.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:69D-1.41