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When Mary Romano tried to break a $100 bill at a Harvey casino, the change machine mistakenly gave her five $100 bills instead of the five $20s she was expecting. Some might consider that a lucky windfall. But State Police investigators say the more than $10,000 that Romano went on to take from the malfunctioning machine -- breaking another 25 $100 bills within minutes -- constituted theft.



Romano, 55, was taken into custody Friday night after State Police troopers with the Bureau of Investigations obtained a warrant for her arrest on Thursday, according to Trooper Melissa Matey, spokeswoman for the agency. Romano's allegedly illegitimate jackpot occurred on the night of Nov. 17 at Boomtown Casino, 4132 Peters Road, Harvey, an arrest report said.

At about 11:40 p.m., Romano inserted a $100 bill into a change machine on the casino floor and got back the five $100s instead of five 20s. She tried it again, with the same result. Someone, likely a casino employee, had mistakenly loaded the machine's slot meant for $20 bills with $100 bills, according to authorities.

"She did this several times for the next few minutes," Matey said. Within 15 minutes, Romano had cleared well over $10,000. At 11:53 p.m., she walked away from the machine when it would no longer accept any more $100 dollar bills. Romano then allegedly returned to gambling, the arrest report said.

Romano, of 781 Terry Parkway, Terrytown, was booked Friday with theft of more than $1,500, the arrest report said. She was released the same day on a $2,500 bond.

When reached by telephone Monday afternoon, Romano said, "It's untrue." She would not comment any further.

Matey said the Romano would not be facing charges if she had notified a casino official once she realized the machine was malfunctioning. "Once she realized it, and continued doing it for a total of 26 times, she did it knowingly and with criminal intent," Matey said.

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