Tribe publicizes videotape casting doubt on jilted gambler’s account

Thursday, Feb. 26, 1998 | 5:24 a.m.

So along with the tribe's gaming agency, Chairman William Antone showed a surveillance videotape they claim proves Herminia Rodriquez continued to play even though she knew her slot machine had malfunctioned and even took quarters from the machine without making any deposits.

"What we showed today was our side of the story," Antone said. "We've got such a bad eye over this."

Rodriquez, 64, is the disabled migrant farm worker who hit a $330,000 jackpot on a progressive slot machine in October and was initially congratulated by staff at the Harrah's Phoenix Ak-Chin Casino.

But not long after the celebration, Rodriquez was told her jackpot was invalid because the machine had malfunctioned. Rodriquez claimed she played the machine in good faith and had not realized it was broken.

Rodriquez took her story to the press, and the casino's management company, Harrah's Entertainment Inc., awarded her the money last month.

Ak-Chin Tribal Gaming Agency acting director Luis Gonzalez played the video for reporters Thursday, pausing throughout to highlight several occasions when the machine appeared to stop working properly.

The video shows Rodriquez gesturing to the machine and talking to nearby players during the first malfunction, when the three reels continued to spin and showed no signs of stopping. An attendant reset the machine, and it began working again.

But then Gonzalez showed a portion of the tape in which it appears Rodriquez pushed buttons and got no response from the machine, another sign of malfunction. The video appears to show Rodriquez taking quarters from the machine's tray without making any deposits.

Gonzalez said the machine went into a test mode when it malfunctioned, and that the jackpot Rodriquez hit was actually one of the test modes.

Gonzalez said the meter that is supposed to freeze when a jackpot is hit, but it continued running. He also said the gaming center that receives a signal when a jackpot is struck, never received one when Rodriquez supposedly hit hers.

Meanwhile, a report by the National Indian Gaming Commission surfaced this week also finding that Rodriquez knew the machine was broken. The NIGC is an independent federal regulatory commission that monitors Indian gambling.

Lights on the machine changed erratically, coins dropped out with no credits showing, and the meter for the jackpot didn't change its total as it should have, the report said.

It also said Rodriquez collected money from the machine several times without depositing coins, draining it of at least half of its supply of quarters.

The report includes statements from witnesses who reported hearing Rodriquez pondering whether she would be paid because the machine was broken.

The NIGC provided its report to the Arizona Department of Gaming, the Ak-Chin Tribal Gaming Agency and the U.S Attorney's office, which was declined to prosecute the case.

Gonzalez said the tribe will complete its own investigation within a month and will then decide how to proceed.

Tribal officials said they will wait for the report before deciding what to do. But they said they hope showing the videotape will clear the casino's name, which they say has been damaged by negative publicity.

"I think we should have been given the benefit of the doubt," said tribal vice-chairperson Leona Kakar. "Our respect has been dropped quite a bit."

Rodriquez's attorney, Charles Buri, did not immediately return four calls this week. Rodriquez's earlier home phone number was disconnected. Neither Rodriquez nor Buri attended the video presentation.

Arlene Alleman, marketing manager for the casino, said the money Harrah's gave Rodriquez was not a jackpot payoff. She also said Harrah's saw the tape and decided to pay Rodriquez for public relation's sake.