California woman challenges denial of slot jackpot

Sylvia Gutierrez, 74, of San Ramon, claims she was cheated out of a $112,600 jackpot on a progressive nickel machine Sept. 30 at The Sands Regency Hotel Casino.

A Gaming Control Board field agent denied her the jackpot, saying the winning symbols stopped above the payline on the Betty Boop-Thrillions game.

Gutierrez said a photo shows the payline running through the bottom of two jackpot symbols, with the third symbol touching the top of the line.

"To me it's a big jackpot," said Gutierrez, who's requesting a hearing with the Gaming Control Board.

Bally Gaming and Systems would be responsible for the payout since it operates the game.

Mark Lerner, a lawyer for Alliance Gaming Corp., which operates Bally, doesn't know if a malfunction led to the alignment.

"We're reviewing the case," he told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "If the symbols don't land on the payline, you don't win. It is our responsibility to pay the top jackpot if it's won ... but it has to be won."

Gutierrez's case is similar to that of Cengiz Sengel of Belmont, Calif., who claims he was cheated out of a $1.8 million slot jackpot in 1996 at Reno's Silver Legacy Resort Casino.

Sengel, 39, thought he won the progressive quarter jackpot after the winning symbols stopped unevenly on the payline.

But International Game Technology, maker of the QuarterMania slot, argued the jackpot was void because the machine malfunctioned and caused a tilt that inadvertently stopped the reels.

A Reno judge upheld the Gaming Control Board's rejection of Sengel's claim. His appeal is pending before the Nevada Supreme Court - the first legal battle of its kind to go all the way to the court.

Meanwhile, a Gaming Control Board hearing is tentatively set for December in yet another dispute involving a gambler and Reno casino.

Lorena Higginbotham, 65, of Shelton, Wash., won $35,000 on a table game March 29 at Circus, then later was told she was overpaid because the game's maximum payout was $25,000.

She claims the casino owes her $10,000 for her winning hand on the "Let It Ride" poker game, because she saw no sign limiting the payout to $25,000.

Casino officials said a sign was on the table and a pit supervisor erred in approving the payout.

Ferenz Szony, chief executive of The Sands, acknowledged such disputes hurt the gambling industry.

"It is something that has to be addressed and, if possible, resolved so that when the machines go out of whack," players don't feel cheated, he said. "It's rotten for all of us."

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