A new machine called the Pedal 'n Play combines a stationary exercise bike with a 25-cent slot machine, and you can give it a spin at the Tropicana Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
"You're always a winner when you're on this machine," raves its inventor, Kathy Harris of Fairfax, Va.
Harris had the idea two years ago while at the Tropicana. "I was working out at the gym, away from all the bells and whistles of the casino, when I thought how nice it would be to be able to gamble while exercising," Harris said.
"Then a little light bulb went off - why not combine a bike with a slot machine?" Harris found a Virginia engineer to help her design the combo stationary recumbent bike and slot machine. Handlebar buttons control the bet amount and spin the wheels of the slot machine.
But cheapskates beware: The pedals only work if the rider's playing the slots.
The Tropicana installed 10 of the bet-while-you-sweat machines last November in an area that features upbeat, exercise-type music.
"People have responded fairly well to them," said George Mancuso, vice president of slot operations at Tropicana, who noted that the machines are mostly used by "retirees, most of them going at a nice easy pace."
Source:NY Post Online
