01/20/97 IN SEARCH OF CYBERJACKPOTS

IN SEARCH OF CYBERJACKPOTS

READY TO LOSE YOUR SHIRT at the click of a mouse? Atlantic International Entertainment Ltd. in Boca Raton, Fla., has developed an online gaming system that it is showing to licensed casinos. Called Internet Casino Extensions (ICE), the set of computers and software lets gaming halls set up a Web site offering electronic versions of such casino staples as blackjack and slot machines.
For around $350,000 and up, Atlantic will install an ICE setup and develop customized software that the casino may distribute on CD-ROM to its guests. When loaded onto a personal computer at home, the program would allow owners to connect to computers in the gaming hall and gamble via the Internet. The servers in the casino would keep track of the wins and losses, which could be settled electronically or when the gambler visits the casino.
Richard A. Iamunno, CEO and president of Atlantic, says that by approaching only licensed and government-regulated gaming halls, the company avoids the legal pitfalls of local ordinances. Aruba Palms, a casino in the Caribbean, is the first casino to start testing an ICE Web site, but Iamunno expects at least one U.S.-based casino to offer an ICE site later this year.
EDITED BY PAUL M. ENG