Thursday, Nov. 12, 1998 | 3:25 a.m.
HENDERSON, Nev. -- When your fingers are stuffing those quarters into a slot machine, why not give the rest of your body a workout too?
Don't laugh, but how about a combination treadmill-slot machine?
"It's great. I need to work out," Helen Favreau, 71, of Henderson said Thursday as she eyed one of two devices being promoted as the world's first heart-healthy slot machine on display at Sunset Station hotel-casino.
The Pedal 'n Play and the Money Mill both aim to trim your thighs by capturing your quarters.
To Pedal 'n Play, gamblers climb onto a stationary bicycle attached to the base of a slot machine and then grip two handles on either side of the seat. The left one has a button that controls the number of coins bet while the right button activates the reel.
On the Money Mill, gamblers can control the speed and incline of a treadmill hooked up to a slot machine.
Kathy Harris, a housewife and mother of four, got the idea for the machines after a stay in Atlantic City, N.J., two years ago.
Her husband, Peyton, wanted to gamble one day, but Mrs. Harris said she would rather work out. While walking on the treadmill, she wondered why she couldn't exercise and gamble at the same time.
"I combined my two passions," Mrs. Harris, 47, of Fairfax, Va., said, demonstrating her machines. "I love working out and I love gambling."
She had never invented anything before, but after securing patents for her idea and creating Fitness Gaming Corp. with her husband, Mrs. Harris was in business.
She debuted her machines at the World Gaming Congress in Las Vegas two months ago, and since then, her phone hasn't stopped ringing.
"I knew this was going to be big. You can't operate in a big gambling community and have tunnel vision. You have to offer something futuristic," she said.
Despite the interest, Mrs. Harris has yet to sell one of her $6,300 bicycles or $7,600 treadmills.
Sunset Station is giving the machines a tryout to see if people like them enough for the casino to give them valuable floor space.
Casino President Don Marrandino believes "there's something to it," but the casino hasn't decided whether to purchase the machines.
"You can combine recreational things," he said.
The machines do have a catch - gamblers can't play unless they are pedaling and can't pedal unless they play. The machines stop operating if the machine has been idle for 20 seconds.
Sure it sounds healthy, but what about all that smoke drifting through the casino or the free alcohol offered to players? And heart rates are sure to climb if gamblers quickly lose a lot of money.
Crystal Pfeffer, 52, of Boulder City had something else to worry about.
"Interesting concept," she said, watching gamblers count how many calories they burned on the machines. "I don't see me getting hot and sweaty in public."
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