NY OTB bettors gone wild

It was "Bettors Gone Wild" at an OTB branch in New York last Monday as a self-service betting machine allowed wagers to be made on races at Gulfstream Park without a dime being invested. A computer glich reportedly allowed bettors for about a half hour to make unlimited bets on races from the Florida racetrack at the Bay Parkway OTB branch in Bensonhurst, although all the wagers were later voided.

"For about a half hour, they were punching out all the tickets they wanted like crazy," one bettor told the New York Post. "People who are usually $1 bettors were betting $10 triples, all-all-all. You couldn't get near the machine."

A change in ID codes for the bet tellers led to the problem. Now, if any tickets obtained as a result are tried to be cashed, an alarm will ring. Reportedly that has occurred a couple of times and the persons presenting the tickets ran away.

The exact amount of how many dollars were wagered during the glich has not yet been determined, although one OTB officials was quoted as saying it wasn't believed to be a significant amount.

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