Slot machines bring violence to Moscow

MOSCOW, June 3 (UPI) -- Deregulation of the gaming industry is resulting in more violence in Moscow arcades, with 10 slayings already linked to the 2-year-old gaming boom.

Moscow police were investigating Thursday the most recent violence in which a security guard and cashier were found shot to death Sunday morning in a small slot machine arcade off one of the city's subway stations.

The cash register had been robbed of $2,460, the Moscow Times said.

City officials have expressed concern the boom has opened the way for criminal gangs to gain control of the machines and profits.

Also, at least one compulsive gambler appears to have turned violent following the attack of two women in late May. One managed to escape, but the second was found dead. She had been raped and strangled.

After investigating, police arrested a young, unidentified man who told investigators his addiction to slot machines makes him prone to aggressive outbursts, after which he remembers nothing.