On Tuesday, many slots were tagged with long checklists of tinkering yet to be completed. Casino employees found several thousand dollars worth of loose change on the floor beneath one section of games, all coins that had rolled under the machines and out of reach over the years. The ticket system might also save gamblers from dropping coins out of reach. The system also saves casino employees time because they avoid the daily 'drop,' when coins are removed from machines. Mullen said many gamblers prefer the tickets because they don't have to lug around buckets of coins. Machines will pay out only in paper tickets that can be turned in for cash or used in another machine. The additions and trades should make Black Bear the first casino in the state to be coin-free, Mullen said. It is also trading in 166 slots and selling 200 to a vendor. The casino is hanging onto 700 of its current slot machines and adding 400 new slots, Mullen said. It's the largest economic venture the band has undertaken, and officials believe it was necessary to keep the casino competitive statewide. It's all part of the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe's $120 million project to expand and renovate the hotel and replace the casino.
