N.J. Admin. Code § 13:69D-1.42

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

Section 13:69D-1.42 - Removal of slot drop buckets, slot drop boxes, and slot cash storage boxes; unsecured currency; recording of meter readings for slot machine drop

(a) Each casino licensee shall file with the Division a schedule setting forth the specific times at which the slot drop buckets, slot drop boxes, and slot cash storage boxes ("slot drop containers") will be brought to or removed from the slot machines. The schedule shall include the number of slot drop containers to be removed each day by zone or other designation. No slot drop container shall be removed from a slot machine at other than the times specified on such schedule except with contemporaneous notification to the Division. The slot drop containers shall be removed at least once a month. If an approved slot monitoring system is used to generate a slot drop estimate report pursuant to N.J.A.C. 13.69L-1.7(c), the schedule for the removal of slot drop boxes and slot drop buckets may be extended.

(b) All slot drop containers which are not actively in use shall be stored in a secure area approved by the Division. In addition, slot drop boxes and slot cash storage boxes shall be stored in an enclosed storage cabinet or trolley, secured by a key maintained and controlled by the security department. Control of the key shall be limited to supervisors in that department and shall be documented, at a minimum, by a sign-out and sign-in procedure in accordance with the security submission approved by the Division.

(c) Slot drop containers shall be removed from a slot machine by at least three employees, two of whom shall be members of the casino security department and one of whom shall be a member of the accounting department ("the slot drop team"). An accounting department member shall be the drop team supervisor and shall be a key licensee. Other than casino security department members, all employees participating in the removal of slot drop containers shall wear as outer garments only a full-length, one-piece pocketless garment with openings only for the hands, feet, and neck. Each casino licensee shall also maintain and make available to the Division upon request, the names and credential numbers of the slot drop team.

(d) The drop team supervisor shall notify the surveillance department at the commencement of the slot drop process. Surveillance shall make a continuous video recording, with the time and date inserted thereon, of the entire slot drop container removal process.

(e) A casino security department member shall sign out the count room door key and padlock key, which are maintained and controlled by the casino security department. Access to these keys shall be limited to security supervisors and shall be controlled, at a minimum, by a sign-out and sign-in procedure described in the casino licensee's security internal control submission as approved by the Division.

(f) To begin the scheduled slot drop container removal process, the drop team supervisor shall perform a physical count of the empty slot drop containers removed from storage. The count and the date shall be documented on a slot drop container verification form to be kept with the trolley throughout the pick-up process. The drop team supervisor shall compare the count of the empty slot containers to the collection schedule. Any discrepancy between the number of empty slot drop containers physically counted and the number indicated on the collection schedule shall be recorded on the slot drop container verification form and signed by the drop team supervisor. Any discrepancy shall be investigated, explained, and reported to the Division by the drop team supervisor.

(g) The casino security department member shall remove the trolley(s) containing the empty slot drop containers from the count room or other storage area and transport the trolleys to the scheduled slot zones.

(h) Prior to removing any slot drop containers, a security department member shall, at a minimum:

1. Notify patrons that a slot machine will be closed for removing slot drop containers;

2. Restrict patrons from the slot aisles where slot drop containers are removed;

3. Secure the area while the slot drop containers are removed;

4. Secure full slot drop containers while they are transported within the casino; and

5. Remain with the trolley at all times.

(i) Procedures and requirements for removing slot drop containers from the slot machines shall be as follows:

1. The slot drop container shall be removed from its compartment. An empty slot drop container, corresponding to the slot machine, shall be placed into the compartment after which the compartment shall be closed and secured; and

2. The slot drop boxes or slot cash storage boxes removed from the slot machines shall only be placed in an enclosed trolley, which shall be secured by a security padlock, provided, however, that the padlock shall be in place but need not be locked when the trolley is moved between slot zones. The locking system shall be maintained and controlled by the casino security department.

(j) For each trolley, the drop team supervisor shall record on a slot drop container verification form, at a minimum, the following:

1. The gaming date; and

2. The number of slot drop containers which have been removed from the slot machines and placed into the trolley.

(k) Prior to the placement of each trolley in the count room, the drop team supervisor shall:

1. Count and record the total number of slot drop containers collected and verify that the number collected agrees with the count recorded on the slot drop container verification form. Any discrepancies between the number of collected slot drop containers and the number on the schedule shall be separately recorded on the slot drop container verification form;

2. Secure the slot containers in the trolley utilizing a padlock;

3. Sign the slot drop container verification form attesting to the accuracy of such reconciliation and that the trolley has been secured; and

4. Obtain the signature of a security department member on the slot drop container verification form attesting to the accuracy of such reconciliation and that the trolley has been secured.

(l) All slot drop containers removed from the slot machines and the slot drop container verification forms shall be transported directly to, and secured in the count room by a casino security department member and a member of the accounting department. A casino licensee may, temporarily, store trolleys in a secure staging area outside of the count room before being transferred to the count room as approved by the Division. The security measures shall require that the staging area be recorded by the surveillance department and guarded by at least one casino security department representative whenever slot drop containers are temporarily stored in the area.

(m) A slot cash storage box removed from a slot machine in order to service the bill changer may be temporarily and securely stored in the slot machine's locked base until the bill changer repairs are completed. At all times, either a slot technician or security department member shall be present at the slot machine while the slot cash storage box is secured in the base. If the repairs cannot be completed and the slot cash storage box cannot be replaced in the bill changer, or if the bill changer must be removed from the casino floor, the slot cash storage box shall be removed from the secure slot compartment and transported to the count room in accordance with (n) below.

(n) A slot drop box or slot cash storage box replaced outside of the slot drop schedule shall be replaced with an empty emergency slot drop box or slot cash storage box by a security department member and a slot or cage department member as follows:

1. A security department member shall notify the surveillance department which shall monitor and record the transaction. If more than one slot drop box or slot cash storage box is being removed, such notification shall include the sequence in which the boxes will be removed and replaced;

2. A three-part emergency box form shall be prepared for each slot drop box or slot cash storage box documenting the replacement of the box. The form shall include at a minimum:

i. The date and time;

ii. The asset and location number;

iii. The reason for the removal; and

iv. The signatures of the security department member and slot or cage department member participating in the process;

3. The casino security department member shall sign out the keys to the count room and emergency box cabinet or trolley and the bill changer compartment. The keys shall be maintained and controlled by the casino security department. Access to these keys shall be limited to casino security supervisors and shall be controlled, at a minimum, by a sign-out and sign-in procedure described in the casino licensee's security internal control submission approved by the Division;

4. The casino security department member and a slot or cage department member shall obtain the emergency box from the count room, affix the original emergency box form to the emergency box, and transport the box with the duplicate and triplicate emergency box form to the appropriate slot machine location;

5. A slot department member, in the presence of a casino security department member and, if applicable, the cage department member, shall remove the slot drop box or slot cash storage box from the slot machine and replace it with the empty emergency slot drop box or slot cash storage box. The slot department member shall promptly, and as soon as practical, deposit the duplicate emergency box form in a locked accounting box and in no event later than the time for collection of that gaming day's accounting slips from the locked accounting box;

6. The slot drop box or slot cash storage box removed from the slot machine shall be transported by the casino security department member and slot or cage department member to the count room and secured in an emergency drop box cabinet or trolley by either a count room supervisor if a count is in progress, or in the alternative, by the casino security department member and either a slot or cage department member;

7. For each slot drop box or slot cash storage box exchanged, the casino security or slot department member shall forward the triplicate copy of the emergency box form to the Division's on-site office within 24 hours. SThe employee securing the box in the trolley or cabinet shall record on an emergency box log, to be maintained with the emergency drop box cabinet or trolley, the following:

i. The date and time the slot drop box or slot cash storage box was secured in the cabinet or trolley;

ii. The slot drop box or slot cash storage box location and asset number; and

iii. The signatures of both the security department member and either the slot or cage department member; and

8. The keys shall be returned and signed in by a casino security department supervisor.

(o) Whenever currency, a gaming voucher, or a coupon is found inside a bill changer but outside of the slot cash storage box ("unsecured drop") during the collection of slot cash storage boxes, the unsecured drop shall be secured and transported to the count room. The unsecured drop shall be counted and recorded with the contents removed from the corresponding slot cash storage box in accordance with internal controls.

(p) Whenever unsecured drop is found at times other than the collection of slot cash storage boxes, a slot department member shall notify surveillance. The unsecured drop shall be documented on a form that shall be transported by the slot department member to the cashiers' cage where a cashier shall sign the form. The unsecured drop and original form shall be retained by the cashier, and the slot department member shall place a copy of the form in a locked accounting box. The accounting department shall reconcile the original form to the copy.

(q) Upon receipt of an unsecured gaming voucher or coupon, the cage cashier in the presence of the slot department member shall deface the gaming voucher or coupon, to the extent necessary, so as to prevent subsequent redemption.

(r) At the end of the gaming day, at a minimum, the original unsecured drop forms and as applicable, gaming vouchers and coupons, shall be forwarded to the accounting department. The accounting department shall reconcile the original and duplicate forms and record the appropriate amount on the Slot Win Report.

(s) In conjunction with the removal of any slot drop container, a casino licensee shall manually read, or cause an approved slot monitoring system to record, the in-meter, drop meter, out-meter, attendant paid jackpots meter, attendant paid cancelled credits meter, bill meters and handle pull meter. In addition, the following meters shall be read and recorded:

1. If the slot machine accepts gaming vouchers, the numerical and value cashable gaming voucher meters, and the numerical and value non-cashable gaming voucher meters;

2. If the slot machine accepts coupons enrolled in the gaming voucher system, the numerical and value cashable coupon meters and numerical and value non-cashable coupon meters;

3. If the slot machine accepts promotional credits, the electronic cashable credit meter and the electronic non-cashable credit meter; and

4. If the slot machine accepts funds from an account based wagering system, the wagering account transfer-in meter and the wagering account transfer out meter.

(t) The slot monitoring system shall provide a report to the accounting department for a comparison of the meter readings to the count room reports and the calculation of each slot machine's payout percentage. Only members of the casino accounting department shall have the authority to adjust meter readings subsequent to the count.

(u) Nothing shall preclude the Division from requiring a casino licensee to read slot machine meters manually as a condition of a prototype approval, as a remedial measure in the event of a malfunction, or as it may otherwise deem necessary to ensure the integrity of gaming and the accurate reporting of gross revenue.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:69D-1.42

Amended by 47 N.J.R. 1954(a), effective 8/3/2015

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 612(b), effective 1/16/2018

Amended by 56 N.J.R. 1182(b), effective 7/1/2024