Casino execs say parents liable for kids in arcades

Nichole Davis

Friday, May 30, 1997 | 11:44 a.m.

Sherrice Iverson's brutal rape and murder at the Primm Valley hotel-casino begs the question: Who is responsible for taking care of children who visit casino arcades?

As reports circulated Thursday that Iverson's father sought an attorney to represent him in legal proceedings, local gaming and child abuse experts say that the 7-year-old's death, however tragic, was a rare occurrence that was caused more by parental neglect than inadequate arcade security.

"This is not about a casino arcade. This is about a society that has sick people who prey on children," said Mirage Resorts Vice President Alan Feldman. "This is about parents who have to keep a close eye on their children whether they're in the Cashman Field parking lot, a mall or a casino arcade."

Nevada Child Seekers spokes woman Jill LaMasurier agrees, but says parents could feel a false sense of security when they leave their children unattended in casino arcades because they see security guards, attendants and/or video cameras.

Still, "parents need to be accountable for their own children," she said. "It's not the casino's job to baby sit and raise their children."

Sherrice's father, 57-year-old LeRoy Iverson, has been criticized in the media and talk-radio circles for leaving his young daughter unattended while he gambled in the early-morning hours. In a television interview, he described himself as a good parent.

The Las Vegas NAACP branch called a news conference this morning to put the spotlight on the Primm Valley casino -- and not the father -- for being neglectful.

"The spin of the media to focus the blame on the father and not on the Primm Hotel disturbs me," said the Rev. James Rogers, NAACP president. "We will not allow Primadonna Resorts Inc. to duck their responsibility and liability in this tragedy."

Rogers said if the gaming industry intends to continue pursuing families, then it should take steps to ensure the protection of nongaming members of the families who are on their property.

"We will not allow the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to do damage control for the gaming industry," he said. "The father of this poor little girl who died in the supposedly safe haven of the hotel is as much a victim here as his daughter."

In an attempt to keep children under 18 out of gaming areas, there is a 9 p.m. curfew on the Las Vegas Strip seven days a week. It applies whether the youths are in casinos or walking the street. However, casinos keep their facilities geared toward youths open much beyond that hour.

At the Holiday Inn Casino Boardwalk where the arcade stays open 24 hours, officials said they have no intention of cutting back its hours of operation because of the murder.

Iverson's death "increases awareness of casinos of a potential lack of supervision, but I don't anticipate the hotels taking responsibility for a lack of parental supervision," COO Forest Woodard said.

"A great deal of the patrons in our arcades are adults. I see a great deal of adults who are in the arcade with their kids or by themselves."

It is a violation of Nevada law for parents to leave their children unattended in video arcades, Metro Police officials said, but they rely upon hotel security officials to provide the first line of defense.

"It's a resource issue," said Chief Paul Conners, who oversees Metro's Investigative Division. "We don't go out and routinely patrol in casino video arcades. We respond to calls based on the gravity of the offense."

That doesn't mean Metro is not enforcing the curfew law. Juvenile Court officials processed about 5,500 youths for violating curfew laws in 1996; about 85 percent are local kids.

Still, the number of citations may not give a full picture of the scope of the problem, said area supervisor Sally Hunchevsky, who traveled frequently with Metro officers in 1996 as they enforced the curfew law.

"I think there's a lot of diversion going on, because the (out-of-town) families aren't advised by casinos that there's a curfew," she said.

Breaking curfew is a misdemeanor offense. The penalty could be as stiff as the youth being sent to the detention facility in Elko or as minor as getting off with counseling, said Deputy District Attorney Frank Ponticello, who specializes in juvenile cases.

Sherrice's murder has been a catalyst for many hotel officials to review their arcade security procedures, but few experts believe the long-range changes will extend much further.

Able Amusements now has attendants from 4 p.m. to midnight in the arcades at the Stardust, Sam's Town, Sahara, Riviera and Aladdin hotel-casinos.

Rich McKeown, who manages the Stratosphere hotel-casino mall for an outside company, says his area's arcade is already patrolled by two security forces, have multiple attendants and monitors the area on surveillance cameras.

However, they have "changed cameras to focus better on that area," he said.

Woodard also reported increasing the frequency of patrols at the Holiday Inn Casino Boardwalk.

In the end, Rob Powers of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority does not believe that the gaming industry will experience long-term repercussions from the Iverson murder case.

Powers believes a lot of people have confused Las Vegas' evolution as a resort destination as an encouragement to bring more children to the city, but casinos don't build arcades or theme parks to attract out-of-town minors.

"A lot of these attractions are catering to the people that live here," he said. "We are not targeting families in any of our advertisements. Our strategy has been to develop Las Vegas as a full-scale resort."