Opinion ID: 1099746
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: did the investigation by the commission result in a denial of hallmark's due process rights?

Text: ¶ 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.