US News

‘Bedding’ the house

As if sitting at a slot machine isn’t being lazy enough, an Atlantic City hotel is betting on in-room gambling.

The Borgata claims it will be the nation’s first hotel to bring casino games — played on TVs, with bets and moves made via the set’s remote control — to its 2,000 guest rooms.

“We’re moving forward with the future of gaming, and this is that first step,” said Borgata President and COO Tom Balance.

The E-Casino program is set to begin on Feb. 18, under a 90-day trial period overseen by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Guests will be allowed to wager up to $2,500 a day to play a slot-machine-like game and four kinds of video poker on their TVs.,

Money would have to be deposited through the casino cage to set up an account — with a player’s card .The hotel will require in-room gamblers to sign up for a player’s card and personal ID number.

The PIN would cut down on the chances of an under-aged guest getting to play, and allow the hotel to check whether a patron is on any casino ban list, officials said.

All the games would be played on a guest room’s

TV, with bets and moves made with the set’s remote control.

Gamblers were split on the new option.

“I like the ambience of being down here on the casino floor,” said Staten Island resident Susan Marzetti. “In my room, I’d find it depressing, to be honest.”

But patron William Frawley said in-room gambling will be a fun tool to kill time.

“I’d be willing to invest $100 and run it through there,” he said. “Video poker, I’d definitely play.”

“I think it would be a great added feature,” Frawley said.