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Jury award upheld in gambling suit
Video slots operator expects payout of $20 million
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA - A Nevada judge has denied an appeal from one of the
world's largest slot machine makers, and video gambling operator
Fred Collins stands to pocket a jury award he won in August 2001,
his lawyer said.
International Game Technology had asked a Nevada court to void
a jury verdict that awarded Collins $15 million, Collins attorney
Jim Gilreath said Friday. But the judge denied IGT's motion to render
the verdict void.
Collins is expecting a $20 million payoff - the $15 million award
plus interest - from IGT, Gilreath said.
Collins claimed the company broke a contract with him that gave
him exclusive rights to distribute its machines in South Carolina.
"Defendant has made this argument at least five times before
the South Carolina Court of Appeals, South Carolina Supreme Court,
and the United States Supreme Court," wrote Nevada District
Judge Brent Adams. "Each court has rejected this argument."
IGT lawyer Ronald Boston of Columbia did not immediately return
a phone message seeking comment.
The U.S. Supreme Court in December rejected the company's last
appeal of the jury award Collins won in Horry County.
IGT is fighting Collins' efforts to collect in Nevada, where the
company is based, Gilreath said.
Source: The Sun Nevada
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