PR Tourism Co. cancels slot machine project at LMM airport
The slot machines formerly installed at Luis Muñoz Marín Airport’s Terminals A and B were removed late last week. (Credit: Andrés O’Neill)
Fifteen months after the Puerto Rico Tourism Co. introduced slot machines at the Luis Muñoz Marín Airport in San Juan through a pilot program, the agency has officially shut down the project and removed the machines on Dec. 1, this media outlet confirmed.
Over the weekend, passengers moving through Terminals A and B noticed the slots had been removed from their stations, where they had been placed since the pilot program began in September 2016, under Gov. Alejandro García-Padilla’s administration.
As this media outlet reported, in March, the machines were powered down and cordoned off, as the new administration “analyzed and evaluated” whether they were viable.
As part of the first phase of the pilot project, 120 slot machines were installed at the LMM airport at a cost of $125,000 for the Tourism Co. The project involved slot machine supplier Aristocrat and Aerostar Airport Holdings, which operates the airport.
When the project was unveiled, former Tourism Co. Executive Director Ingrid Rivera predicted revenue would reach $1.8 million annually, based on the total daily earnings of the machines.
Attempts to reach Tourism Co. representatives were unsuccessful Monday. However, a source confirmed the contract between the agency and Aerostar has been cancelled.
The slot machines were taken down late last week.
