We told you earlier about the case of John Kane and Andre Nestor – two guys who happened to find  a video-poker slot machine glitch. Those same two guys proceeded to exploit said glitch, win a ton of money in two states and are now facing charges brought against them by Las Vegas prosecutors.

On Monday, prosecutors dropped two of the three charges as they related to anti-hacking law under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (1986), which has been deemed inapplicable in this case. The dismissal of these charges means that Kane and Nestor now only face a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

In case this is your first time hearing about this story, here is your primer:

-          In 2009 John Kane identified a bug in International Game Technology (IGT)’s “Game King” video poker slot game. He then passed this information along to his friend Andre Nestor.

-          The bug allowed a knowing player to increase their winnings both swiftly and substantially. To exploit the bug a player would need to press the appropriate buttons in a specific order.

-          The two took advantage of the bug by playing that same game in multiple casinos in Nevada and Pennsylvania.

-          The jig was up when Kane’s activities at the Silverton Casino Lodge attracted the attention of authorities. Charges were laid once authorities replicated the bug and understood what Kane and Nestor had been up to.

-          On May 1^st the story was given an in-depth report by “Wired” magazine.

-          The trial date for the one remaining charge has been set for August 20

This has sparked a debate both in the courtroom and online over whether there should be any charges at all. Many see this to be a case of playing within the scope of the software and therefore legal, while others see a moral imperative to either inform the casino of the glitch or, at the very least, not exploit it.

What do you think?