Newcastle City crime manager Detective Superintendent Wayne Humphrey said frauds occasionally tried to manipulate poker machines, but he had not come across Jackson Blanch’s method until he was charged last month.

Blanch, 20, of Longworth Avenue, pleaded guilty in Newcastle Local Court yesterday to five fraud offences.

He and a friend combined to manipulate poker machines at Kotara Bowling Club and the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West, last year, a police statement said.

They opened the machines and deactivated the machines’ alarms so bar staff were not alerted to what was going on.

They then tampered with the machines so that every time they inserted a $1 coin it dropped through to the coin tray, but the machine registered a $1 credit.

Blanch and his mate accumulated $2000 credit at the bowling club on September 11 last year before they summoned bar staff and received their payout.

They returned twice more and pocketed $1700 and $1400 on each occasion before they moved on to the Cambridge Hotel in December. They claimed $1700 on their first visit and $160 on the second.

The hotel’s manager noticed a discrepancy in poker machine takings and used the pub’s security cameras to track down the culprits.

Blanch was arrested and confessed on January 16.

He told police he went halves with his partner in the scam.

Blanch’s case was adjourned to next month.