Nevada gaming regulators accuse Bally Technologies of not registering employees

Bally Technologies Inc. received some coal in its Christmas stocking this year, as gaming regulators filed a complaint accusing the slot machine manufacturer and operator of failing to register employees with the state.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board filed the 28-count complaint on Christmas Eve. State law requires an employee to be registered with the state before working in gaming operations.

Most of the counts in the complaint claim that registrations were a few weeks or months late. Nanette Redmond was hired as a software engineer Nov. 21, 2011, but her application was not submitted until Feb. 4.

One count applies to Lorna Lindstedt, who was hired as an engineer on Feb. 18, 2003, and worked for 10 years as an un­registered gaming employee until her application was filed with the state on Feb. 7.

A majority of the employees cited in the complaint were engineers. The 25-page complaint noted that Bally paid a $65,500 fine in 2008 for failing to register 56 gaming employees. “The overwhelming majority of the many hundreds of employees have been registered,” Bally spokesman Mike Trask said Thursday.

Shares of Bally fell 59 cents, or 0.76 percent, to close at $77.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The board has asked the Nevada Gaming Commission to impose a fine for each of the 28 violations and take action against the license of Bally, according to the complaint.

Bally, with headquarters at 6601 S. Bermuda Road in Las Vegas, is licensed in Nevada as a slot route operator, a manufacturer and a distributor.

As of Thursday, a hearing before the gaming commission had not been scheduled. Bally can contest the complaint, but in most cases, a settlement is reached before a hearing before the five-member commission.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @sierotyfeatures on Twitter.