Not the first time this has happened at Louisiana Downs

[DaTruth]

A decade ago, a patron at Louisiana Downs hit a $100,000 Pick 6 at Hollywood. When he went to cash, he was informed by the track that his ticket was not valid because the bet had not been transmitted to the Hollywood pool.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...WS01/706140336

Bettor stumped when winning ticket isn't cashed
June 14, 2007

By Roy Lang III
rflang@gannett.com

Betting the horses is hard enough. But when you win and still lose, it can become a bit distressing. Just ask Lee Maxie.

The Shreveporter thought he recently struck gold at Harrah's Louisiana Downs. His $34 Daily Double (bet on Golden Gate from the Bossier City race track) was to return a $1,251.20 payoff.


Unfortunately, when he went to the window to collect the loot, the teller had some bad news. At first, he was told the computers were temporarily down. Only when he returned to the track the following day did he discover he would not get his winnings — at least not immediately.

Louisiana Downs has one rule about wagering — "check your tickets." Maxie did that. He had the right horses, the right race, the right track, the right everything — except the amount of money coming back to him.

Louisiana Downs refunded the cost of all his bets for the race — a whopping $96.

"If I don't get my money, I hope they arrest me," said Maxie, who recalls machines going down at Louisiana Downs after the second race at Golden Gate had run May 23.

Amtote, the company in charge of mutuels at Louisiana Downs, had a communications breakdown with its hub in Ohio. Several tracks throughout the country were affected for a "couple of hours," according to Mark Midland, Louisiana Downs' vice president, who first learned of the incident Wednesday. He planned to call Maxie at home that day.

"We're in the business of taking bets," said Midland, who does not know if any announcement about the technical issue was made. "We want to honor it. As far as this individual, we have not received a formal complaint. We'll look into it and we'll be happy to pay him off."

Maxie unknowingly talked to a representative of Amtote, not Louisiana Downs.

Charles A. Gardiner III, executive director of the Louisiana Racing Commission, spoke with Louisiana Downs officials about Maxie's problems. There is a law that protects race tracks in the instance wagers do not reach the wagering pools.

"That's a goodwill thing that should be done more. But, ultimately, if (Louisiana Downs) wants to be hard about it — and there was a breakdown in communication — it would be hard to get him a remedy to get his money," Gardiner said. "I think as a PR move, it's a good thing to pay the bettor off.

"There is never a situation where everybody is happy. We're looking into it on his behalf," Gardiner said. "We're going to get some answers and we're going to get back to him. That was my promise. We'll try to get him a remedy."

All bettors are entitled to refunds — win or lose — if they purchased tickets affected by the breakdown.

"I might be broke and I'm not perfect, but my reputation is good around this town. Ask any of the people at the track," Maxie said