Case Name: GRAND CASINO BILOXI v. David HALLMARK
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2002-08-29
Citations: 823 So. 2d 1185
Docket Number: No. 2000-CC-01115-SCT
Parties: GRAND CASINO BILOXI v. David HALLMARK.
Judges: PITTMAN, C.J., McRAE, P.J., EASLEY AND GRAVES, JJ., CONCUR. SMITH, P.J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY WALLER, COBB AND CARLSON, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 823
Pages: 1185–1203

Head Matter:
GRAND CASINO BILOXI v. David HALLMARK.
No. 2000-CC-01115-SCT.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
Aug. 29, 2002.
Kathryn H. Hester, Keith R. Raulston, Jackson, attorneys for appellant.
T. Roe Frazer, II, Jackson, Warren Leon Conway, Gulfport, John Gordon Sims, III, attorneys for appellee.

Opinion:
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
DIAZ, Justice, for the Court.
¶ 1. The motion for rehearing is denied. The original opinions are withdrawn, and these opinions are substituted therefor.
¶ 2. On December 3, 1997, David Hallmark filed a Petition for Investigation with the Mississippi Gaming Commission (Commission) disputing Grand Casino Biloxi's (Grand Casino) refusal to award Hallmark an alleged jackpot. The Commission concluded that he had not won the primary progressive jackpot because the machine had "entered a tilt condition and ceased to function." On January 15, 1998, Hallmark filed a Petition and Application for Hearing. The hearing was conducted on March 30, 1998, through April 3, 1998. On July 29, 1998, the hearing officer affirmed the decision of the enforcement agent and ruled that Hallmark did not win the jackpot.
¶ 3. Thereafter, on August 7, 1998, Hallmark requested a review of the hearing officer's decision by the Commission. On September 15, 1998, the Commission adopted the hearing officer's decision. On October 6, 1998, Hallmark appealed to the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial District of Harrison County. On June 21, 2000, the circuit court reversed the decision of the Commission and awarded Hallmark the $509,000.00 jackpot. Following entry of the circuit court judgment, Grand Casino filed a notice of appeal to this Court. We affirm the decision of the circuit court.
FACTS
¶ 4. On November 16, 1997, Hallmark went to Grand Casino Biloxi and played the Grand Bucks slot machine. He pulled the slot machine lever and saw "Grand Bucks" with bells ringing, lights flashing, and a scale that showed the progressive jackpot at $509,000.00. Casino employees arrived at the scene and informed Hallmark that the machine had malfunctioned.
¶ 5. Believing he had won the progressive jackpot, Hallmark requested that the Mississippi Gaming Commission get involved in the dispute. Before Commission employees arrived, the machine was entered and manipulated by casino employees who testified that the reels were spun and removed from the machine. The circuit court found that because the machine had been manipulated, the agent for the Commission did not have the benefit of conducting an investigation on the machine as it existed directly after the alleged jackpot. Also, on the same night as the dispute arose, a casino employee recorded over several relevant segments of video which showed footage of the events that took place as the casino employees were running tests on the slot machine in question. In addition, 15 other camera angles were erased or recorded over; therefore, the Commission and Grand Casino no longer had this evidence to assist in the final determination of the case. The casino also failed to preserve the custom buffer "cus buf ' report which would have indicated every opening of the slot machine door, tilt conditions, jackpots, and other relevant information.
¶ 6. Based upon information provided by casino employees and information under the control of the casino, the agent for the Commission determined that the slot machine was in a tilted condition at the time Hallmark was playing it; therefore, Hallmark did not win the jackpot. After a subsequent investigation and a hearing, the Commission determined that Hallmark did not win the jackpot. The circuit court reversed the decision of the Commission. The circuit court determined that Hallmark's due process rights were violated because of Grand Casino's destruction of relevant evidence and the Commission's failure to conduct a proper investigation. This Court agrees with the circuit court's determination that Hallmark's due process rights were violated.
¶ 7. Grand Casino discusses in the body of its brief the following issues: due process; notice and an opportunity to be heard; the circuit court rejected the Commission's expertise; the record does not support the circuit court's finding of unfairness; and the record evidence supports the hearing officer's findings and conclusions. The circuit court did not reverse the Commission's determination on substantial evidence grounds, rather that court reversed on constitutional provisions, specifically the right of due process. The main focus of the circuit court concerned the prompt notification of a patron dispute to the Commission; proper preservation of evidence of the alleged jackpot; the investigation; and adherence to the gaming regulations. These issues can properly be considered as due process considerations. Based on several due process violations, the circuit court reversed the finding of the Commission and found in favor of Hallmark.
DISCUSSION
¶ 8. Pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 75-76-171(3), a reviewing court may reverse a decision of the Mississippi Gaming Commission when the substantial rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced due to a "violation of constitutional provisions." Miss.Code Ann. § 75-76-171(3)(a). The combined conduct of Grand Casino in its manipulation of evidence and of the Commission in its subsequent investigation resulted in a violation of Hallmark's due process rights.
I. WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT PROPERLY REVERSED THE HEARING OFFICER'S DECISION AND FOUND THAT HALLMARK'S DUE PROCESS RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED?
A. WHEN THE DISPUTE OCCURRED, DID THE CASINO'S FAILURE TO IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY THE COMMISSION RESULT IN A DENIAL OF HALLMARK'S DUE PROCESS RIGHTS?
¶ 9. Miss.Code Ann. § 75-76-159 states that "(1) whenever a licensee refuses payment of alleged winnings to a patron, the licensee and the patron are unable to resolve the dispute to the satisfaction of the patron and the dispute involves: (a) at least Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), the licensee shall immediately notify the executive director;" Miss.Code Ann. § 75-76-159(1). The circuit court found that, despite this mandatory requirement, Grand Casino employees refused to immediately notify the executive director that a dispute had arisen. At the hearing Hallmark testified:
while I was sitting there and being told that this was a malfunction and that the machine wasn't working, somebody, a patron, whispered in my ear, have them call the Gaming Commission, which was the first I had ever heard you could do so. So I requested that they call the Gaming Commission.
The casino actually discouraged Hallmark from involving the Commission, telling him:
well, we can do that, but we will have to post a guard at the machine and close the machine. Your credits will be tied up in the machine until they make a decision. And I said, well let's call the Gaming Commission. Well, they will tell you the same thing that we told you, that it malfunctioned. Let's hear it from them. Let's call them.
¶ 10. Testimony revealed that the casino employees were well aware of the notice procedure that they are required to follow in the event of a disputed jackpot in excess of $500.00. Robert Payne, the investigating agent for the Commission, arrived on the scene about 2 hours after the dispute arose. The casino states that Agent Payne arrived at the casino approximately an hour after he was called to the casino.
¶ 11. The casino claims that it notified the Commission when the casino determined the combination of Hallmark's machine, refused to pay Hallmark for a non-winning combination and the casino could not resolve a disagreement with Hallmark. Immediate notification of the Commission is intended as a protection for the patron, as well as the casino. The dispute arose as soon as the first casino employee questioned whether Hallmark had won the jackpot after Hallmark had an expectation that he had won. The casino tested the machine and altered the evidence without any direction or guidance from the Commission. The condition of the machine was not preserved before the Commission agent arrived. Hallmark was told that if they notified the Commission, the machine would have to be locked down. He insisted that the casino notify the Commission. Instead of locking down the machine to preserve evidence, the machine was altered. Notice to the Commission at this point in time afforded no substantive due process protection to Hallmark.
¶ 12. In Mississippi Gaming Comm'n v. Freeman, 747 So.2d 231, 244 (Miss.1999), this Court stated that, according to the notice provision, "where the dispute involves $500.00 or more, the casino is required to immediately notify the executive director of the commission." Although it was clear in Freeman that the licensee failed to notify the commission, the difference between Freeman and the instant case was that according to testimony and the surveillance tapes, the patron did not appear to dispute the casino's explanation. In the case sub judice, any surveillance tapes that might have supported Hallmark's position on this issue were destroyed. Furthermore, the record clearly indicates that Hallmark did dispute the casino's explanation. The record suggests that Hallmark had to insist that the casino call the Commission. The record indicates that the dispute was immediate, but the casino did not involve the Commission until the tangible evidence was spoiled.
¶ 13. Another distinguishing factor in Freeman is that there was enough evidence in that case to conclude that the patron did not win the jackpot. The hearing officer had the opportunity to review the surveillance tapes, as well as a computer printout, which showed there was a "hopper jam," which is equivalent to a tilt. Due to the casino's own actions, this type of evidence was not available to the hearing officer in the case sub judice. Similar evidence used in Freeman was simply not available in the case sub judice. Again, it was destroyed or manipulated beyond preservation.
¶ 14. Unwisely, the same precautions that this Court laid out in Freeman were completely ignored in this case. This Court in Freeman noted that the several procedural errors and coincidences were suspicious. This Court suggested the following:
(1) requiring casinos to "lock down" (remove from further play) a slot machine which is involved in a casino patron dispute until such time as a Commission agent can investigate; and (2) requiring casinos to immediately notify the Commission and to inform patrons of their rights any time any type of dispute is had with a patron regardless of whether it appears the patron has been satisfied.
Id. at 247.
¶ 15. In Sengel v. IGT, 116 Nev. 565, 2 P.3d 258 (2000), a similar patron dispute case, Sengel disagreed with a casino employee over an alleged jackpot win and alleged malfunction of the machine by the casino. The Nevada Gaming Control Board was contacted immediately and a "thorough investigation" ensued immedi ately following the dispute. Id. at 260. The instant case is set apart from Sengel because in Sengel no issue existed as to whether the evidence was manipulated before the Board conducted its investigation; there was no issue as to whether failure to properly notify the Board resulted in a deprivation of due process of law. Unlike Sengel, the instant case involves an issue regarding the obstruction by the casino of a fair and independent investigation by the Commission. Furthermore, remaining evidence that was apparently under the Board's control in Sengel, during its immediate investigation, indicated that no jackpot lights were on, no sirens or music came from the slot machine, and the progressive jackpot amount continued to run. Id. at 259. On the other hand, in the instant case, the evidence for the casino, which consisted of testimony of casino employees, revealed that sounds came from the machine and lights were on. Notwithstanding casino employee testimony as to the alleged tilt condition, there remained a strong impression and expectation on Hallmark, his wife, and on at least one spectator that he had won the jackpot. Unfortunately, the subsequent manipulation of evidence by the Casino before the arrival of the Commission, along with the Commission's flawed investigation, wiped out all the clear evidence that would have readily resolved the dispute.
¶ 16. Preservation of the evidence is paramount to providing proper notice. This Court finds that Hallmark's due process rights were violated due to the casino's failure to render immediate and meaningful notice to the Commission.
¶ 17. Member casinos of the Mississippi Gaming Association have expressed some concern that shutting down a casino gambling machine after every dispute over $500.00 will cause the casinos in Mississippi to lose revenue and cause a disruption in the casino industry. They argue that there are not enough gaming agents in Mississippi to promptly resolve disputes over slot machine jackpots and that roping off machines to wait for agents will cause a disruption in the gaming industry. However, securing safeguards for patrons is a public policy concern; the cost of roping off one machine, until the dispute can be adequately investigated by an unbiased party, is not significant enough for casinos to overlook the legislative safeguards and notice requirement intended to protect both parties to the dispute.
B. DID THE INVESTIGATION BY THE COMMISSION RESULT IN A DENIAL OF HALLMARK'S DUE PROCESS RIGHTS?
¶ 18. The casino argues that under the Gaming Operations Manual, the agent is only required to ask the patron to put his complaint in writing, to go to the casino, to review the surveillance tapes, and to interview the patron and casino management. Additionally, the manual states that the agent can interview other witnesses and obtain computer print outs of slot machine activity if the agent deems them necessary. According to the casino, the agent's investigation was complete. On the contrary, because the casino failed to preserve tangible and unaltered evidence, the subsequent investigation could not have been conclusive or complete. The little evidence that remained consisted of the statements of casino employees and a dubbed video. The destruction of evidence prejudiced Hallmark's due process rights.
¶ 19. Agent Payne spoke with Hallmark and several of the casino employees, but failed to document any of the conversations. Although he testified that he spoke with Hallmark, and several Grand Casino employees, he failed to document these conversations in any way. Agent Payne also failed to take any physical evidence or to view the videotape of the event while he was at the casino that evening.
¶ 20. When Agent Payne arrived at the scene, he performed various tests on the machine. We are in agreement with the finding of the circuit court that these tests were meaningless because the machine had been entered and manipulated by Grand Casino employees before Agent Payne arrived on the scene. Casino employees testified that the reels were spun and at some point even removed from the machine before Agent Payne arrived. As such, any tests that were performed on the machine are tainted and the hearing examiner should have afforded them no weight at all.
¶21. The gaming agent did not have the benefit of conducting an investigation on the machine as it existed directly after the jackpot. Therefore, the evidence that existed on the machine at the time of the alleged winning, including the disputed combination pay line symbols and the alleged tilt condition, was altered forever.
¶ 22. In addition, Agent Payne was not aware that the casino employees had entered the slot machine on the night of November 16, 1997, prior to his arrival. Agent Payne stated that it is general knowledge that casino employees go into machines and even test them or shut them down if there is a patron dispute. However, it must be noted that Agent Payne relied on the information provided by and under the control of the casino in his investigation. As a result, his investigation, to a large extent, was only as good as the information released by the casino. Therefore, the circuit court's determination that Agent Payne's investigation was improper was not solely due to his failure to perform his duties. A more accurate view of the situation is that Agent Payne's investigation was problematic due to the actions taken by the casino in the course of events surrounding the jackpot dispute.
¶ 23. Furthermore, the circuit court found that Agent Phil Hancock, who subsequently took over the investigation of Hallmark's case in mid December, also did not have the information that he would have had if a proper investigation had been conducted and had evidence been preserved on the date of the incident; as such, both Agent Payne's and Agent Hancock's investigations were fatally flawed and in violation of Hallmark's right to due process. Agent Hancock testified that he reviewed the dubbed video tape but found it was not helpful for determining if the machine was in a tilt condition. The circuit court determined that the investigation was inconclusive due to the lack of the videotape, reliance upon casino employee statements only, and a jackpot signal which had no supporting documentation.
¶ 24. The casino claims that the Commission investigation was not fatally flawed. The Legislature mandates that the executive director or his designee conduct an investigation that he deem necessary; therefore, the casino claims that, as such, the agent conducted the necessary investigation. The casino states that the agent arrived less than 55 minutes after notification and not two hours later as the circuit court found. Agent Payne conducted an investigation in which he performed four slot machine tests (last five games, slot machines were aligned properly, slot machine paying appropriate amounts, and slot machine was accepting coins properly); and checked the slot machine computer board for game tampering. The test results revealed that of the last five games only one winning combination of ten coins; the reels were properly aligned; the machines were paying the appropriate amounts, and the computer game board was intact with no indication of tampering. Agent Payne spoke to Hallmark and asked for statements from casino employees only. Agent Payne reviewed the surveillance tape and received a copy of the MEAL log. Agent Payne told Hallmark there was a reel tilt with no jackpot.
¶ 25. The circuit court's main focus concerning the investigation was the lack of all evidence by either destruction of evidence, a time delay in the investigation, and the mere reliance upon only the unsigned statements of casino employees. Hallmark spoke to Agent Payne but did not give any written statement for investigation purposes to either agent. The Commission did not request Hallmark's written statement of the events even though statements from casino personnel were requested by the agents.
¶26. All of the casino's arguments aside, this Court finds that Hallmark's substantial rights were prejudiced due to the denial of due process of law. Evidence that would have been helpful to the jackpot incident and assisted the agents in their investigation was not preserved due to the casino's actions. In addition, such evidence was not available upon review. The casino had control and possession of the majority of the evidence and had the responsibility to preserve that evidence. Any subsequent investigation was meaningless. Grand Casino's failure to preserve the evidence and the Commission's investigative technique, in relying on tainted evidence, contributed to the denial of Hallmark's right to due process.
C. DID THE FAILURE TO PRESERVE EVIDENCE PREJUDICE HALLMARK'S RIGHTS?
¶ 27. The circuit court stated that the casino employee's act of destroying part of the casino videotape violated gaming regulations, and the deliberate destruction of the tape violated Hallmark's due process rights. In addition, the investigating agents and the hearing officer did not have the benefit of a recording of the entire sequence of events.
¶ 28. Mississippi Gaming Regulation Section 10(e) states that:
Every licensee must retain all videotape recordings for at least ten (10) days after the recording is produced, unless a longer time period is required by another section of this regulation, or by order of the Executive Director, the commission, or a court of competent jurisdiction.
¶ 29. The casino has approximately seven minutes of tape beginning at the time Hallmark walked up to the machine to shortly after the lights began flashing on the machine and Hallmark allegedly won the progressive jackpot. The time was approximately 2:14 a.m. to 2:22 a.m. There is no videotape of the subsequent actions taken by casino employees to investigate whether there was an alleged winning of the progressive jackpot or an alleged machine tilt.
¶ 30. The casino claims that the original surveillance tape, from which the copy was made for the Commission, was held for the required time period under the gaming regulations. III.F.7(a). The tape was then returned to the normal inventory for use in taping other casino events. The casino states that Agent Payne viewed the original tape with Brown, the surveillance supervisor, while at the casino. Although, according to the record, its not clear that Agent Payne reviewed the tape that night. The hearing officer had an opportunity to examine a copy of the tape and see the sequence of the flashing lights on Hallmark's machine. However, Agent Hancock testified that he could not determine the sequence of flashing lights from the videotape. The casino claims that the sequence of the flashing lights indicated a reel tilt and a door open, and any claim to the contrary is not supported by fact or evidence.
¶ 31. The cross-examination of Bill Brown, the surveillance supervisor at the casino on November 16, 1997, regarding the videotape, was as follows:
Q. Now, why did you stop the tape?
A. Just now or—
Q. No. The tape says, at 2:22 tape stopped, doesn't it?
A. Yes.
Q. Who made that decision?
A. I did.
Q. You made it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Now this little surveillance report that somebody filled out that was sitting next to you went on beyond 2:22, didn't it?
A. The report goes on beyond that, yes, sir.
Q. Where do you have it with you on any tape showing what happened at that machine after 2:22?
A. I don't have anything with me on the tape, no, sir.
Q. Where is it?
A. We don't have it.
Q. What do you mean you don't have it?
A. I mean there's no tape that has it.
Q. So you just quit filming at 2:22?
A. No, sir.
Q. What happened at 2:22?
A. That's when I. quit dubbing the tape.
Q. So there was of this area, out of the camera view that we have just viewed, was still being filmed at 02:22:01?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And 2:23?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And 2:30?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. 2:48?
A. Still today.
Q. 4:20?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. That's been destroyed, correct? Ms. Hester: Objection.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Well, it has been destroyed, hasn't it?
A. It's been taped over.
Q. You destroyed it. It's gone, correct?
A. Correct.
Q. And who made that decision?
A. I did.
Q. You made it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When did you make it, that night? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Now, you knew that there was a dispute, correct?
A. I knew that there was a dispute at the time that we rerecorded the video, the dub that you saw.
Q. Right. Now, so you knew there was a dispute, but you didn't keep what was on the tape past 2:22?
A. No, sir. At 5:10 when Agent Payne came up, the dispute, as far as I knew, was taken care of. There was no longer a dispute.
Q. Well, did you have the tape available then?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you keep a copy of that?
A. There was no longer any dispute.
Q. From whose perspective?
A. From Agent Payne's.
Q. Not from Mr. Hallmark's?
(emphasis added). Brown also testified that the equipment used by the casino has a screen that shows all sixteen camera shots. However, Brown excluded the other 15 camera shots from the dubbed version of the videotape because he stated that it did not have any bearing on the issue.
¶ 32. Based on the testimony from the casino employee, a portion of the videotape was destroyed on the night of November 16, 1997. This portion of the tape would have preserved the actions taken by the casino and the Commission representatives involved in this case. The position of the portion of the preserved videotape did not show the pay line. In addition, the other 15 camera angles were not preserved either. The testimony given at the hearing did not indicate whether the other 15 angles were of benefit; nevertheless, any evidence of the subsequent actions of the casino employees and any differing camera views were not maintained. The patron, the Commission and the casino no longer had this evidence to assist in the final determination of the case.
¶ 33. This Court has held:
It is a general rule that the intentional spoliation or destruction of evidence relevant to a case raises a presumption, or, more properly, an inference, that this evidence would have been unfavorable to the case of the spoliator. Such a presumption or inference arises, however, only where the spoliation or destruction was intentional and indicates fraud and a desire to suppress the truth, and it does not arise where the destruction was a matter of routine with no fraudulent intent.
Tolbert v. State, 511 So.2d 1368, 1372-73 (Miss.1987)(quoting Washington v. State, 478 So.2d 1028, 1032-33 (Miss.1985)). As this Court stressed in a recent patron dispute case, Freeman, 747 So.2d at 247, "... patrons are at the mercy of [the] gaming system and the law, and the judicial system is their only current safeguard." Further, the statutes are designed to protect all parties involved in a dispute.
¶ 34. Grand Casino states that in Thomas v. Isle of Capri Casino, 781 So.2d 125, 134 (Miss.2001), this Court held that the negligent loss of evidence results in a permissible inference that the lost evidence would have been unfavorable to the party who lost the evidence. In that case, the hearing officer found that the presumption had been rebutted by other evidence. There are key differences in the Thomas case and the case sub judice that the casino fails to recognize. In Thomas there was sufficient evidence to find that the hearing officer's decision did "not meet the 'unsupported by any evidence' standard to require a reversal." Id. The evidence in Thomas consisted of slot tracking systems, experts to describe the functions of the machine in jackpot mode, and a surveillance tape, as well as several witnesses with conflicting testimony. Substantive evidence was not available in the case sub judice. The evidence in the case sub judice was spoiled or altered in such a way as to prevent a meaningful investigation. Furthermore, it can not be said that in the present case the casino negligently altered the machine and dubbed over the surveillance tape. On the contrary, the casino's actions were deliberate and intentional.
¶ 35. Besides failing to preserve the video tape and the condition of the machine, the casino also failed to preserve the custom buffer ("cus buf') report. The "cus buf' report shows all door openings, door closings, jackpots, tilts, etc. The computer buffer files have limited space, and once the files are full, the old data is deleted as more current data is generated. Williams, the director of slot machines, knew there had been a jackpot dispute with Hallmark and was aware of limited computer space in regard to the "cus buf' report. Yet, the report was not generated. Consequently, the message that the computer would have received from Hallmark's machine at the time of his play was lost. If the machine had been intact and not altered, the alleged tilt code could have been verified by the Commission or verified against the computer cus buf report, if the report had been preserved by the casino.
¶ 36. The circuit court also cited that a time delay severely compromised the investigation that followed and violated Hallmark's due process rights. Agent Hancock was assigned the case in mid December after the Commission received a Petition for Investigation from Hallmark's counsel. The circuit court stated that the Commission should have conducted the investigation immediately after the dispute arose. Hallmark had to hire an attorney and file a petition for the investigation.
¶ 37. Clearly, a delay of one month by the Commission, severely inhibited the investigation. The machine, of course, was not in the same position; the videotape was not complete; some computer reports were not still available; the events were not as fresh in the minds of the witnesses; and some witnesses, such as other patrons, were not questioned. Furthermore, a different agent was assigned the case, and he was not as familiar with the surrounding events.
¶ 38. Grand Casino failed to follow procedure and deliberately spoiled tangible evidence. The remaining evidence was necessarily inconclusive. Due to the failure to afford Hallmark due process of law, in light of the casino's failure to preserve the evidence and to follow proper procedure, a decision by the Commission in favor of the casino would be inappropriate.
¶ 39. The casino had all the pertinent evidence under its control and in its possession. Yet the casino failed to preserve all evidence surrounding the alleged jackpot, such as the entire videotape of all events concerning the patron dispute. The patrons in these instances are truly at the mercy of the casino, which has control over much of the potential evidence in a patron dispute case. Therefore, the circuit court correctly determined that based on a review of the record, Hallmark's substantial rights were prejudiced.
¶ 40. The dissent states that this Court has cited no legal authority to support the conclusion that Hallmark was denied his due' process rights. Although this is a case of first impression, the legal authority that allows this Court to protect the substantive due process rights of patrons rests in Miss.Code Ann. § 75-76-171(3)(a). Furthermore, the procedural notice requirement, under Miss.Code Ann. § 75-76-159(1), was intended to protect the patron and the casino by allowing a non-biased party, the Commission, to determine and judge disputes such as this one. The only evidence not in the control of the casino included: a machine in its original condition, the "cuss buf' report, surveillance videos, third parties, etc. Before the Commission had the opportunity to evaluate this evidence, it was altered or destroyed. The dissent sets forth a list of evidence that it contends clearly indicates that Hallmark did not win the jackpot. However, all of this evidence remained under the control of the casino throughout the investigation.
II. WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED IN REVERSING THE HEARING OFFICER'S DECISION?
¶ 41. The circuit court reversed the decision of the hearing officer and entered a judgment in favor of Hallmark in the amount of $509,000.00 with court costs.
¶ 42. Miss.Code Ann. § 75-76-171(3) states the following:
The reviewing court may affirm the decision and order of the commission, or it may remand the case for further proceedings or reverse the decision if the substantial rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced because the decision is:
(a) In violation of constitutional provisions;
(b) In excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the commission;
(c) Made upon unlawful procedure;
(d) Unsupported by any evidence; or
(e) Arbitrary or capricious or otherwise not in accordance with law.
(emphasis added). Additionally, Miss. Code Ann. § 75-76-173 states:
1. Any party aggrieved by the final decision in the circuit court after a review of the decision and order of the commission may appeal to the Supreme Court in the manner and within the time provided by law for appeals in civil cases. The Supreme Court shall follow the same procedure thereafter as in appeals in civil actions and may affirm, reverse or modify the decision as the record and law warrant.
2. The judicial review by the circuit and Supreme Courts afforded in this chapter is the exclusive method of review of the commission's actions, decisions and orders in hearings held pursuant to Sections 75-76-159 through 75-76-165, inclusive.
(emphasis added).
¶ 43. Miss.Code Ann. § 75-76-171(3) clearly allows the circuit court to reverse a commission decision if the substantial rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced, such as in the case sub judice, where the decision by the Commission violated Hallmark's due process rights. On appeal this Court may either affirm, reverse or modify the decision as the record and law warrant. Id. § 75-76-173. The present case cannot be remanded for a new hearing since the evidence is no longer in existence. The casino had control and possession of the information and yet, failed to preserve relevant evidence in violation of gaming regulations. Consequently, the appropriate remedy in this particular case is to affirm the circuit court's judgment in favor of Hallmark in the amount of $509,000.00 with costs.
CONCLUSION
¶ 44. This Court's primary concerns are the casino's manipulation of the machine and destruction of evidence to the point where no Commission agent could make a proper determination of whether there was a jackpot. The Commission had to rely solely on the casino's own investigation. Without preservation of the evidence, there would be no point in calling the Commission and no point in having a notice provision. The notice provision would provide little or no protection to the patron. The gaming act was designed to protect casinos as well as patrons. When Grand Casino failed to immediately notify the Commission and failed to preserve evidence, the casino not only spoiled any evidence that Hallmark may have used to support his claim but also ridded itself of any evidence that may have threatened its own interest. For these reasons, the judgment of the Harrison County Circuit Court is affirmed.
¶ 45. AFFIRMED.
PITTMAN, C.J., McRAE, P.J., EASLEY AND GRAVES, JJ., CONCUR. SMITH, P.J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY WALLER, COBB AND CARLSON, JJ.