Gonzo
12-03-2008, 01:15 PM
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG — An offer of $500 in free slot-machine playing credits was accidentally mailed to 55,000 gambling customers, leaving a Pennsylvania casino scrambling to placate customers and figure out how the mistake happened.
Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course decided to partially honor the offer on Monday after frantically calling tens of thousands of customers over the weekend.
The mistake was reported by WGAL-TV, which said some confused and angry customers began trying to take advantage of the offer that took effect Monday.
Penn National spokesman Eric Schippers said Monday the mailing offered $100 per week from Dec. 1 through Jan. 4, along with two free visits to the Grantville casino’s buffet. Instead, the casino said it will honor $100 in credits and two buffet passes if they are redeemed by Christmas.
Schippers said the mistake occurred at a direct mailing business that he declined to identify. The offer had been intended for only about 1,000 of the casino’s most active customers.
“What we don’t know is how it occurred, why it occurred, and we don’t want to speculate until we hear back from them exactly what happened,” he said. “Rather than say, ‘Sorry, it was an error,’ we’ve said, ‘Sorry, let’s try to come up with what we think is a reasonable redemption plan.’ ”
HARRISBURG — An offer of $500 in free slot-machine playing credits was accidentally mailed to 55,000 gambling customers, leaving a Pennsylvania casino scrambling to placate customers and figure out how the mistake happened.
Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course decided to partially honor the offer on Monday after frantically calling tens of thousands of customers over the weekend.
The mistake was reported by WGAL-TV, which said some confused and angry customers began trying to take advantage of the offer that took effect Monday.
Penn National spokesman Eric Schippers said Monday the mailing offered $100 per week from Dec. 1 through Jan. 4, along with two free visits to the Grantville casino’s buffet. Instead, the casino said it will honor $100 in credits and two buffet passes if they are redeemed by Christmas.
Schippers said the mistake occurred at a direct mailing business that he declined to identify. The offer had been intended for only about 1,000 of the casino’s most active customers.
“What we don’t know is how it occurred, why it occurred, and we don’t want to speculate until we hear back from them exactly what happened,” he said. “Rather than say, ‘Sorry, it was an error,’ we’ve said, ‘Sorry, let’s try to come up with what we think is a reasonable redemption plan.’ ”