I tried to respond yesterday, but apparently newbies are limited to 5 posts per day. I can honestly say that I have never posted here under any other name and I signed up here just to post my thoughts on this thread. I've known this forum existed for many years as Alan used to post on LVA as MoneyLA and linked occasionally to his Best Buys. Those were the days.
I have long had an interest in this case and really felt that the criminal case would end up exactly as it did. Although you may think it immoral or cheating, no crime was actually committed. It's the responsibility of a gaming machine manufacturer to make sure their machines work properly and it's the responsibility of the Casino to not pay out on machine malfunctions or design flaws. The only responsibility the VP Player has is to put his money in the machine, push the buttons any way the machine allows and wear deodorant.
Legally and Morally, I believe the VP play is no different than Hole Carding a table game or exploiting a biased wheel. In all three cases you're enriching yourself by taking advantage of a flawed game. And just like when you get paid on a losing hand by mistake, the casino can take their money back, but they can't charge you with theft.
There's a big difference between taking advantage of a gaming machine flaw you discover and a plundering an ATM in a Financial Institution. There's a big difference between playing a game on the casino floor and hacking computers to steal money. At least legally.
From a moral standpoint...everyone has a different moral compass based on their upbringing and life experiences. Some folks will draw the line at whether or not it's legal. Some folks will say "it's perfectly ok and it's up to the casino to deploy games that don't give away free money." Some will say "it's just plain wrong". I'm kind of in the camp that if it is truly legal I would do it. I would run it by a knowledgable attorney and find out what risks I was taking first. Morally, I'd think that "maybe it's not right to take all this free money from the casino", but it wouldn't bother me too much or for too long.